pDRIVE-Endoglin

Endoglin promoter (Endothelial cells) in pDRIVE expression plasmid

Endoglin (CD105) is a transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) coreceptor expressed mainly on endothelial cells and preferentially in the neovasculature associated with hypoxia such as ischemic tissues and tumors.

The endoglin promoter lacks consensus TATA and CAAT boxes but contains Sp1, NF-κB and TGF-β binding sites [1]. These sites are located in a -400/+341 fragment upstream of the endoglin gene which is sufficient to confer endothelial specificity.

Regulation of endoglin occurs at the transcriptional level; basal endoglin transcription is highly dependent on Sp1 and is stimulated by TGF-β and hypoxia [2].

The endoglin promoter has been used to target gene expression to the vasculature in transgenic animals [3].

References:

1. Rius C. et al., 1998. Cloning of the promoter region of human endoglin, the target gene for hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia type 1. Blood. 92(12):4677-90.
2. Sanchez-Elsner T. et al., 2002. Endoglin expression is regulated by transcriptional cooperation between the hypoxia and transforming growth factor-beta pathways. J Biol Chem. 277(46):43799-808.
3. Cowan PJ. et al., 2003. Targeting gene expression to endothelium in transgenic animals: a comparison of the human ICAM-2, PECAM-1 and endoglin promoters. Xenotransplantation. 10(3):223-31.