No existence of translocus balancer to coordinate the expression and regulation of human hemoglobin genes in transgenic mice study

Abstract

All mammals use hemoglobin (Hb) to transport oxygen. Each Hb molecule is a tetramer of two pairs of unlike globin polypeptide chains. Equal amount of subunit globin chains derived from the corresponding α- and β-like genes can always result during development though the two separate gene clusters are located on two different chromosomes and spatially transcribed within different nuclear domains. Disturbance of this balance will result in degradation or precipitation of the excessive globin chains, which is the character of various thalassemic syndromes. In previous studies, we had established two kinds of bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) mediated transgenic mouse models, which contain respectively the entire human α- and β-globin cluster. Here, we investigated the regulatory relationship between the two clusters by interbreeding these two kinds of transgenic mice. The levels of human α- and β-mRNA in the various hybrid lines reflect the levels in the original transgenic lines that contain either the α- or β-globin cluster alone. The results suggested that there is no apparent cross talk or regulatory interaction between the two human globin clusters in transgenic mice.