Tissue-specific regulatory elements in mammalian promoters

Mol Syst Biol. 2007:3:73. doi: 10.1038/msb4100114. Epub 2007 Jan 16.

Abstract

Transcription factor-binding sites and the cis-regulatory modules they compose are central determinants of gene expression. We previously showed that binding site motifs and modules in proximal promoters can be used to predict a significant portion of mammalian tissue-specific transcription. Here, we report on a systematic analysis of promoters controlling tissue-specific expression in heart, kidney, liver, pancreas, skeletal muscle, testis and CD4 T cells, for both human and mouse. We integrated multiple sources of expression data to compile sets of transcripts with strong evidence for tissue-specific regulation. The analysis of the promoters corresponding to these sets produced a catalog of predicted tissue-specific motifs and modules, and cis-regulatory elements. Predicted regulatory interactions are supported by statistical evidence, and provide a foundation for targeted experiments that will improve our understanding of tissue-specific regulatory networks. In a broader context, methods used to construct the catalog provide a model for the analysis of genomic regions that regulate differentially expressed genes.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms
  • Animals
  • CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / metabolism
  • Computational Biology
  • Databases, Genetic
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Humans
  • Liver / metabolism
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Muscle, Skeletal / metabolism
  • Myocardium / metabolism
  • Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis
  • Pancreas / metabolism
  • Promoter Regions, Genetic / genetics*
  • RNA, Messenger / metabolism*
  • Regulatory Elements, Transcriptional / genetics*
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA
  • Statistics, Nonparametric
  • Systems Integration
  • Testis / metabolism
  • Transcription, Genetic*

Substances

  • RNA, Messenger