Regulació de l'expressió gènica de la histona H1º en les neuroes

This project deals with the regulation of histone H1º expression in neurons. H1º is expressed weakly along the cell-cycle, but accumulates in quiescent cells. We have obtained strains of transgenic mice containing the H1º enhancer and promotor sequences linked to the beta-gal structural gene. We plan a detailed analysis of the promotor activity in brain and cerebellum during postnatal development. Preliminary results indicate that the promotor is activated at the beginning of terminal differentiation. These studies could give the necessary background for the use of H1º transgenics as a source of labeled neurons in transplantation experiments aimed to establish the importance of external signals in neuron differentiation during brain development. Another aspect of the project consist in the characterization of the regulatory elements in the enhancer. We have previously shown the transacti