Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common severe autosomal recessive disorder in the Caucasian population. In North America, approximately 1 in 2,500 live-births is affected with CF, which is characterized by chronic obstructive lung disease, pancreatic insufficiency, abnormalities of electrolyte, fluid and macromolecule secretion of exocrine glands. The basic biochemical defect is unknown. The identification of the CF gene has provided an opportunity to understand the defect and the pathophysiology of the disease at the molecular level, which will allow the development of rational therapy. On the basis of DNA sequence analysis, the CF gene product (CFTR) is predicted to be a transmembrane protein with 2 ATP-binding domains. Genetic analysis shows that approximately 70% of the CF chromosomes suffer a 3 base pair deletion which corresponds to a single amino acid deletion at position 508 of CFTR.
Five specific aims are proposed in this application: (1) Additional mutations in the CF gene will be identified in order to map the functional domains of CFTR; simple detection procedures will be developed for each mutation; a number of mutations have already been identified for the remaining 30% of CF chromosomes. (2) Mutations and """"""""epitope tags"""""""" will be introduced into selected regions of CFTR to map its functional domains and topology in relation to the plasma membrane in mammalian cells. (3) The effect on the biosynthesis of CFTR of some of the naturally occurring mutations, especially the nonsense and frameshift mutations that have been detected, will be studied to investigate if true """"""""null"""""""" mutations exist in CF. (4) In order to understand the factors governing CF gene expression, the sequence elements responsible for basal promoter activity and tissue-specificity for CFTR will be determined by conventional techniques with the use of reporter gene constructs (CAT); transgenic mice carrying the CF gene promoter and a reporter gene (E. coli lacZ) will also be constructed to study developmental regulation of CFTR. (5) DNA sequences that have been detected and shown in preliminary studies, to be closely related to CFTR in the human genome will be isolated and characterized, with respect to their chromosomal location, expression pattern, and their structural and functional relationships with CFTR. The latter information may provide important insight into the evolution function of the CF gene and other CFTR-like genes. These studies, conducted in parallel with 2 other separately funded approaches (use of yeast and mouse models), constitute a comprehensive research program in elucidating the basic defect in CF.
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