Binding properties of M-CAT element in the chicken nicotinic acetylcholine receptor gamma-subunit promoter

The interaction of M-CAT motif, at the position -67/-61 relative to the initiation site of gamma-promoter with nuclear proteins, were analyzed. Mutageneses and binding experiments demonstrated that the M-CAT core motif bound nuclear protein(s) from tested chicken tissues to generate a high-mobility complex; while the flanking sequence bound different factors to generate lower-mobility complexes with the exception of liver. Southwestern blotting showed that only a 30 kD protein was expressed in tested tissues of chicken embryo at day 13.