pDRIVE-SV40 / hAlb

SV40 / hAlb promoter (Liver) in pDRIVE expression plasmid

The albumin gene is transcribed at very high levels in fetal liver and, unlike the adjacent AFP gene, remains active after birth. A small segment of the bovine albumin 5’flanking region, from -170 to +20, is sufficient for promoter activity and specificity [1].

This segment contains the CCAAT box, TATA box and the binding site of HNF1, a liver specific transcription factor.

The albumin promoter is a liver-specific promoter. It can drive the expression of a transgene, such as HSV-tk, specifically in hepatocellular carcinoma cells eliminating the risk of systemic toxicity of GCV [2].

References:

1. Power SC. et al., 1994. Isolation and functional analysis of the promoter of the bovine serum albumin gene. Biochem Biophys Res Com 203(3):1447-1456.
2. Kuriyama S. et al., 1997. Tissue-specific expression of HSV-tk gene can induce efficient antitumor effect and protective immunity to wild-type hepatocellular carcinoma. Int J Cancer. 71(3):470-5.