| The alpha-subunit of the GTP-binding regulatory protein (G protein) Gz, alpha-z, exhibits a pattern of expression restricted primarily to cells of neuronal and hematopoietic origin. However, the molecular mechanisms governing the transcription of alpha-z gene have not been previously elucidated. In this thesis, the rat alpha-z gene structure was characterized and the regulatory elements directing gene expression were defined by reporter gene assays. The rat alpha-z gene comprises three exons and two large introns, and the 5;In contrast to the strict cell type-specificity of alpha-z mRNA expression, the alpha-z promoter showed activity in Rat-1a fibroblasts which do not express the endogenous alpha-z gene. Furthermore, no element in the 5;To define elements of gene structure controlling expression of alpha-z, rat basophilic leukemia-2H3 (RBL-2H3) cells were transiently transfected by electroporation with up to 1.5 kilobase pairs of the 5... |
