pDRIVE-MUC1

Human MUC1 (DF3) promoter in pDRIVE expression plasmid

The human MUC1 (DF3) gene encodes a high molecular mass glycoprotein that is aberrantly overexpressed in most human carcinomas, including 80% of breast cancers. Overexpression of the MUC1 gene in human breast cancer cells is regulated at the transcriptional level. Cloning and characterization of the 5' flanking region of the MUC1 gene has shown that expression of the gene is regulated mainly by sequences between positions -598 bp and -485 bp upstream from the transcription start site. The MUC1 promoter has been used in the context of replication-defective adenoviruses to selectively express therapeutic genes, including herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV-tk) and the BAX proapoptotic gene in MUC1-positive human
carcinoma cells [1, 2].

References:

1. Chen L. et al. 1995. Breast cancer selective gene expression and therapy mediated by recombinant adenoviruses containing the DF3/MUC1 promoter. J. Clin. Invest. 96:2775-2782.
2. Tai YT. et al. 1999. In vivo cytotoxicity of ovarian cancer cells through tumor-selective expression of the BAX gene. Cancer Res. 59(9):2121-6.