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Reporter of gene activation
One of the first documented application areas for GFP technology was as an in vivo reporter of gene expression. Typically, the gene for GFP is placed downstream of the target response element, allowing the kinetics and regulation of gene activation to be monitored. Because GFP is not an amplified reporter system, GFP is primarily suitable as a reporter for moderate to strong response elements, and benefits greatly from "folding" and "red-shift" mutations that maximize its fluorescence output, or from fusion to localization signals that facilitate concentration of the reporter protein in a discrete sub-cellular location. Destabilized GFP molecules have been developed for kinetic gene expression analyses (ref). Examples of the use of GFP to monitor gene activation include:
Developmental gene regulation
P.P. Reddi et al., Transcriptional regulation of spermiogenesis: insights from the study of the gene encoding the acrosomal protein SP-10. J. Reprod. Immunol. 2002, 53(1-2):25-36.
Gene regulation in neurobiology
D.J. Spergel et al., Using reporter genes to label selected neuronal populations in transgenic mice for gene promoter, anatomical, and physiological studies. Prog. Neurobiol. 2001, 63(6):673-686.
Transcriptional activation of tumor suppressor genes
M. Doubrovin et al., Imaging transcriptional regulation of p53-dependent genes with positron emission tomography in vivo. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2001, 98:9300-9305. |
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