Rodent Aanat: intronic E-box sequences control tissue specificity but not rhythmic expression in the pineal gland.
Mol Cell Endocrinol
; 270(1-2): 43-9, 2007 May 30.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-17363136
ABSTRACT
Arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase (Aanat) is the penultimate enzyme in the serotonin-N-acetylserotonin-melatonin pathway. It is nearly exclusively expressed in the pineal gland and the retina. A marked rhythm of Aanat gene expression in the rat pineal is mediated by cyclic AMP response elements located in the promoter and first intron. Intron 1 also contains E-box elements, which mediate circadian gene expression in other cells. Here we examined whether these elements contribute to rhythmic Aanat expression in the pineal gland. This was done using transgenic rats carrying Aanat transgenes with mutant E-box elements. Circadian expression of Aanat transgenes was not altered by these mutations. However, these mutations enhanced ectopic expression establishing that the intronic Aanat E-box elements contribute to the gene's pineal specific expression. A similar role of the Aanat E-box has been reported in zebrafish, indicating that Aanat E-box mediated silencing is a conserved feature of vertebrate biology.
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Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Organ Specificity
/
Pineal Gland
/
Arylamine N-Acetyltransferase
/
Circadian Rhythm
/
E-Box Elements
Limits:
Animals
Language:
En
Journal:
Mol Cell Endocrinol
Year:
2007
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country: