Cloning and Analysis of the Promoter Region of Rat uPA Gene

Objective To clone and analyze the promoter sequence of rat urokinase plasminogen activator protein gene.Methods The genomic DNA was extracted from rat testicular tissue. According to urokinase plasminogen activator, the gene sense primer and antisense primer of uPA gene were designed and synthesized, then Touch-Down PCR were performed. After proper purification, the PCR product was sequenced, analyzed with the promoter prediction software and compared with the DNA sequence of rattuas urokinase plasminogen activator.Results The cloned uPA gene was about 1 572 bp in length, which contained a full open-reading frame with 21 bp in length exons, and the upper region of transcriptional start was 1 551 bp in length which was eucaryon transcriptional control area.The 5' UTR had a promoter region including a non-responsive TATA-box. Not only the GC-box binding region was found in this gene, but also active protein 1 (AP1) and SP1 were seen in other regions.Conclusion A 1 572 bp uPA gene fragment (GenBank accession No. X65651) was obtained from rat genomic DNA library, containing eucaryon transcriptional control area with a promoter region, non-conspicuous TATA-box, GC-box and an extron. A non-responsive TATA-box is located at the upper -30 region.