Intergenic Transcription Occurs throughout the Human IL-4/IL-13 Gene Cluster

Abstract

Recent experiments have shown that the previously identified elements in the proximal promoter of IL-4 are not sufficient to fully explain the regulation of its transcription. Consequently we examined another aspect of transcriptional regulation, intergenic transcription, which has been observed throughout the prototypic gene cluster of human β-globin. These intergenic transcripts are nuclear and it is possible that they play an important functional role in the β-globin locus. Here we show that intergenic transcription also occurs in the IL-4/IL-13 gene cluster. Intergenic transcription occurs when the surrounding genes are not transcriptionally active; it also occurs in the promoters of these genes; the transcripts are polyadenylated and they remain in the nucleus. We also show that, in HeLa cells which do not express IL-4 or IL-13, intergenic transcription is absent from the region immediately surrounding the genes. This suggests a role for intergenic transcription in the regulation of the IL-4/IL-13 gene cluster.