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Molecular and Cellular Biology, May 2003, p. 3516-3526, Vol. 23, No. 10
0270-7306/03/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/MCB.23.10.3516-3526.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington 98109
Received 30 October 2002/ Returned for modification 19 December 2002/ Accepted 28 February 2003
The human serine protease inhibitor (serpin) gene cluster at 14q32.1 contains a number of genes that are specifically expressed in hepatic cells. Cell-specific enhancers have been identified in several of these genes, but elements involved in locus-wide gene and chromatin control have yet to be defined. To identify regulatory elements in this region, we prepared a series of mutant chromosomal alleles by homologous recombination and transferred the specifically modified human chromosomes to hepatic cells for functional tests. We report that deletion of an 8-kb DNA segment upstream of the human
1-antitrypsin gene yields a mutant serpin allele that fails to be activated in hepatic cells. Within this region, a 2.3-kb DNA segment between kb -8.1 and -5.8 contains a previously unrecognized control region that is required not only for serpin gene activation but also for chromatin remodeling of the entire locus.
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