| First Author | Shaw P | Year | 1985 |
| Journal | Cell | Volume | 40 |
| Issue | 4 | Pages | 907-12 |
| PubMed ID | 3872721 | Mgi Jnum | J:7807 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:56276 | Doi | 10.1016/0092-8674(85)90350-2 |
| Citation | Shaw P, et al. (1985) The two promoters of the mouse alpha-amylase gene Amy-1a are differentially activated during parotid gland differentiation. Cell 40(4):907-12 |
| abstractText | Mouse parotid acinar cells differentiate and proliferate mainly after birth. During the first 3 weeks of age, alpha-amylase mRNA, one of the major gene products of the adult tissue, increases from barely detectable to adult levels (10(4) copies/cell). Run-on transcription experiments show that this increase is transcriptionally regulated. Northern blot hybridization and in situ hybridization results indicate that the two promoters of the alpha-amylase gene Amy-1a are differentially switched on. First, the weaker downstream promoter is activated, and by 2 weeks of age, virtually all acinar cells have accumulated the transcript initiated at this promoter. At this age the strong Amy-1a promoter is utilized in only a minor proportion of acinar cells, while in the adult this promoter appears to be active in all acinar cells. Thus, the progressive accumulation of alpha-amylase mRNA during postnatal parotid differentiation is mainly the consequence of progressive acinar cell commitment to expression of the strong parotid-specific Amy-1a promoter. The pattern of committing cells during differentiation suggests that once an acinar cell has initiated expression of parotid-type alpha-amylase mRNA, this commitment is passed on to its daughter cells. |
