Aly/ REF, a factor for mRNA transport, activates RH gene promoter function

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Abstract
The rhesus (Rh) blood group antigens are of considerable importance in transfusion medicine as well as in newborn or autoimmune hemolytic diseases due to their high antigenicity. We identified a major DNaseI hypersensitive site at the 5′ flanking regions of both RHD and RHCE exon 1. A 34 bp fragment located at −191 to −158 from a translation start position, and containing the TCCCCTCCC sequence, was involved in enhancing promoter activity, which was assessed by luciferase reporter gene assay. A biotin‐labelled 34 bp probe isolated an mRNA transporter protein, Aly/REF. The specific binding of Aly/REF to RH promoter in erythroid was confirmed by chromatin immunoprecipitation assay. The silencing of Aly/REF by siRNA reduced not only the RH promoter activity of the reporter gene but also transcription from the native genome. These facts provide second proof of Aly/REF as a transcription coactivator, initially identified as a coactivator for the TCRα enhancer function. Aly/REF might be a novel transcription cofactor for erythroid‐specific genes.