Analysis of Alternative Promoters in Human Genes
Author Information
Author(s): Gregory AC Singer, Jiejun Wu, Pearlly Yan, Christoph Plass, Tim HM Huang, Ramana V Davuluri
Primary Institution: The Ohio State University
Hypothesis
Treatment with E2 affects the promoter activity of a sub-set of genes in the genome.
Conclusion
The usage of alternative promoters greatly multiplies the transcriptional complexity available within the human genome.
Supporting Evidence
- Developed a custom microarray platform that tiles roughly 35,000 alternative putative promoters.
- Analyzed patterns of promoter usage in E2-treated and untreated MCF7 cells.
- Found that downstream promoters in E2-sensitive genes are close to the 3'-terminus.
Takeaway
This study found that many human genes have multiple starting points for making proteins, which can change how genes work in different situations.
Methodology
The study used a custom microarray platform to analyze promoter usage in MCF7 cells treated with 17β-estradiol and untreated cells.
Potential Biases
Potential bias in promoter activity detection due to the limitations of the microarray design.
Limitations
The study may not account for all possible promoter activities in different cell types or conditions.
Participant Demographics
MCF7 human breast cancer cells were used for the experiments.
Statistical Information
P-Value
2.5e-10
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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