Mouse cone arrestin gene characterization: promoter targets expression to cone photoreceptors

Cone arrestin (CAR) is a novel member of the arrestin superfamily expressed in retinal cone photoreceptors and the pineal gland. To understand the regulatory mechanisms controlling its cone- and pineal-specific expression, and to facilitate further functional studies using gene knockout approaches, we characterized the genomic organization and the 5'-flanking region of the mouse CAR (mCAR) gene. The mCAR gene is comprised of 17 exons and 16 introns, encoding five alternatively spliced transcripts. A 215-bp proximal promoter fragment containing a TATA box, an Sp1 site and four cone-rod homeobox-binding sites is sufficient to direct expression in cultured retinoblastoma cells and in cone photoreceptors and the pineal gland in transgenic Xenopus laevis. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. on behalf of the Federation of European Biochemical Societies.