Preferential usage of the bone-type leader sequence for the transcripts of
liver/bone/kidney-type alkaline phosphatase gene in neutrophilic
granulocytes
N Sato, Y Takahashi and S Asano
Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Tokyo, Japan.
Alkaline phosphatase in neutrophils (NAP) is a product of the
liver/bone/kidney-type alkaline phosphatase gene, the chromosomal structure
of which has recently been analyzed. The gene has two alternative leader
sequences resulting in the two types of mRNA (liver- type and bone-type
mRNAs), which suggests that the expression of the gene is regulated by
independent promoters. To determine the mechanism underlying NAP induction,
it is essential to know which type of the mRNAs is dominant in neutrophils.
We adopted quantitative polymerase chain reaction method to determine the
relative amount of bone-type mRNA in neutrophils. The bone-type mRNA was
found to be at least 5 times more than the liver-type mRNA. mRNA of NAP is
known to be induced by in vitro treatment of the cells with granulocyte
colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), which is enhanced by a simultaneous
addition of retinoic acid. In neutrophils treated with G-CSF, the bone-type
mRNA was at least 6 times more than the liver-type mRNA. In neutrophils
treated by both G-CSF and retinoic acid, the bone-type mRNA was at least 22
times more than the liver-type mRNA. The results show that the bone-type
mRNA is predominantly transcribed in peripheral neutrophils and in
neutrophils cultured in vitro.
Volume 83,
Issue 4,
pp. 1093-1101,
02/15/1994
Copyright © 1994 by The American Society of Hematology
