Sequence analysis of the putative regulatory region of rat α₂-macroglobulin gene

Rat α₂-macroglobulin (α2M) is an acute-phase reactant, concentration of which in serum increases more than 100-fold in the course of inflammation. Glucocorticoid and some protein factors such as interleukin 1 (IL-1) have been known to be involved in the regulation of this plasma protein synthesis. To understand the regulatory mechanism of α2M production at the molecular level, we isolated genomic DNA clones of rat α2M gene and characterized the promoter region of the gene by comparing the nucleotide sequence with those of other acute-phase reactant genes. Several possible regulatory signals were identified. Particularly, a sequence (T/A)T(C/G)TGGGA(A/T) was found about at 170 bp upstream from a putative capping site, which was also found in the 5'-flanking region of various acute-phase reactant genes.