Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1997 Sep;71(9):6568-75.
doi: 10.1128/JVI.71.9.6568-6575.1997.

Characterization of the minute virus of mice P38 core promoter elements

C Lorson  1 , D J Pintel
Affiliations

Characterization of the minute virus of mice P38 core promoter elements

C Lorson et al. J Virol. 1997 Sep.

Abstract

While the minute virus of mice (MVM) P4 promoter, which drives the viral nonstructural genes, is highly active in the absence of viral proteins, P38, the capsid gene promoter, is strictly dependent on the viral nonstructural protein NS1. Once fully transactivated, however, P38 mediates twice the steady-state level of expression achieved by P4. In this report, we address the discrepancy between the ability of P38 to mediate very high levels of activated transcription yet only low levels of basal expression, and we investigate the determinants that govern P38 basal expression. The isolated P38 core promoter elements (the P38 Sp1-binding site and TATA element) are at least as transcriptionally competent as the analogous P4 promoter elements. Proximally positioning P4 enhancer factor-binding sequences (nucleotides [nt] 57 to 157) upstream of isolated P38 core transcription regulatory elements or upstream of a native, though abbreviated, P38 cassette (MVM nt 1938 to 2072) confers significant levels of expression to P38 in the absence of NS1, while the full left-end hairpin sequences (nt 1 to 133) elevate basal P38 activity to levels equivalent to P4 basal levels. In the context of the complete viral genome, however, proximally positioned enhancer sequences are unable to confer significant levels of expression to P38, suggesting that low P38 basal levels are a consequence not only of a lack of proximal enhancer elements but also of additional positional regulatory constraints which can be overcome by NS1.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Virology. 1995 May 10;209(1):122-35 - PubMed
    1. J Virol. 1995 Mar;69(3):1652-60 - PubMed
    1. J Virol. 1995 Sep;69(9):5506-15 - PubMed
    1. J Biol Chem. 1995 Sep 8;270(36):20978-86 - PubMed
    1. J Virol. 1996 Feb;70(2):834-42 - PubMed

Publication types