Analysis of the collagen α(I) promoter

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Abstract
The collagen α 1(I) gene is regulated at a developmental and tissue specific level. We have previously demonstrated that only 220bp of the promoter region of the collagen α 1(I) gene are required for efficient expression in NIH 3T3 cells. DNAse I protection assays demonstrated 4 footprinted segments in the promoter region. Deletional analysis revealed that the 3 most proximal footprints were required for maximal expression. The most proximal footprint contains a CCAAT sequence and a 12bp segment that forms a direct repeat with the preceding footprint. Ligation of the proximal footprint sequence to a heterologous promoter enhanced transcription of the reporter gene. These studies, therefore, identify and characterize elements in the promoter region of the collagen α 1 (I) gene that interact with DNA binding proteins and are required for efficient expression.