pDRIVE-β-Act

β-Act promoter (Ubiquitous) in pDRIVE expression plasmid

Beta-actin is a highly conserved protein ubiquitously expressed in all eukaryotic cells as a component of the cytoskeleton and as a mediator of internal cell motility. A 1.2-kb fragment of the β-actin 5’ flanking region is sufficient for efficient transcription [1].

This 1.2-kb fragment contains a TATA box, a CCAAT box, and two highly conserved elements. The region between +765 and +783 downstream from the cap site has enhancer activity and acts as a serum-response element in quiescent cells [2].

This 19-bp element contains a CC(A/T)6GG sequence which is found in the promoter region of many cytoskeletal and muscle-specific actin genes.

The human β-actin promoter was shown to drive high levels of expression of a transgene in vitro [3]. InvivoGen provides a larger fragment that includes the  5’UTR of the β-actin gene.

References:

1. Sugiyama H. et al., 1988. Strong transcriptional promoter in the 5' upstream region of the human beta-actin gene. Gene. 65(1):135-9. 
2. Orita S. et al., 1989. Identification of a site that mediates transcriptional response of the human beta-actin gene to serum factors. Gene. 75(1):13-9.
3. Muller S.R. et al., 1990. Efficient transfection and expression of heterologous genes in PC12 cells. DNA Cell Biol 9(3):221-9.