Posttranscriptional regulation of acute phase serum amyloid A2 expression by the 5'- and 3'-untranslated regions of its mRNA

D B Longley, D M Steel, A S Whitehead

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Human acute-phase serum amyloid A protein (A-SAA) is a major acute phase reactant, the concentration of which increases dramatically as part of the body's early response to inflammation. A-SAA is the product of two almost identical genes, SAA1 and SAA2, which are induced by the pro-inflammatory cytokines, IL-1 and IL-6. In this study, we examine the roles played by the 5'- and 3'-untranslated regions (UTRs) of the SAA2 mRNA in regulating A-SAA2 expression. SAA2 promoter-driven luciferase reporter gene constructs carrying the SAA2 5'-UTR and/or 3'-UTR were transiently transfected into the HepG2 human hepatoma cell line. After induction of chimeric mRNA with IL-1beta and IL-6, the SAA2 5'- and 3'-UTRs were both able to posttranscriptionally modify the expression of the luciferase reporter. The SAA2 5'-UTR promotes efficient translation of the chimeric luciferase transcripts, whereas the SAA2 3'-UTR shares this property and also significantly accelerates the rate of reporter mRNA degradation. Our data strongly suggest that the SAA2 5'- and 3'-UTRs each play significant independent roles in the posttranscriptional regulation of A-SAA2 protein synthesis.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4537-45
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Immunology
Volume163
Issue number8
Publication statusPublished - 1999

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Immunology

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