A transcriptional silencer controls the developmental expression of the CD4 gene.

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Abstract
The appropriate expression of the CD4 glycoprotein is required for T‐cell function and development. Here we define the transcriptional control elements in the CD4 locus that convey CD(4+)‐specific expression of a marker gene in transgenic mice. Using nuclear run‐on experiments, we have determined that the major mechanism for CD4 expression control during development is transcriptional. We have identified a developmental stage‐ and tissue‐specific negative regulatory element in the first intron of the murine CD4 gene that has the characteristics of a transcriptional silencer. The CD4 silencer functions to inhibit marker gene expression at two different stages of T‐cell development, as well as in non‐T hematopoietic cells, and thus is the critical controlling element responsible for T‐cell‐specific, as well as developmental‐ and subclass‐specific, expression.

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