CHARACTERIZATION OF THE 5'-FLANKING REGION OF THE HUMAN BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR GENE

The 5′-flanking region of the human brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene was isolated from a human placental genomic library using the cDNA fragment for the 5′-noncoding region of human BDNF as a probe. A 3.2Kbp genomic fragment containing the 5′-flanking region, the first exon and a portion of the first intron was isolated and sequenced. The transcriptional initiation site, identified by S1 nuclease mapping, was located 26bp downstream from the TATA-like sequence. Several expression plasmids, in which the BDNF promoter regions were fused to the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) gene, were constructed. Transient expression in human glioma Hs683 cells demonstrated that a fragment of about 0.5Kbp from the transcriptional initiation site was sufficient for promoter activity. © 1992 Academic Press, Inc.