The Structure of the Human Carcinogenesis-Associated CKAP2 (LB1) Gene

The structure was described for human gene CKAP2, which codes for the cytoskeleton-associated protein 2, is at the boundary of chromosome regions 13q14.3 and 13q21.1, and is rearranged in various tumors. The CKAP2 exon-intron structure was established by collating the nucleotide sequences of the cDNA and genomic clone AL359513 (GenBank) and analyzing the gene sequence with the GENSCAN program. The results were verified by amplifying gene fragments. CKAP2 comprises nine exons ranging 70-1442 bp and is about 22 kb in size (regulatory regions included). The CKAP2 promoter contains CCAAT (-39...-33) rather than the canonical TATA box, and harbors nine binding sites for six transcription factors. Thus, CKAP2 possesses all structural elements characteristic of eukaryotic genes. The results may be used to study the CKAP2 expression in normal and tumor cells in order to elucidate its role in carcinogenesis.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]