Characterisation of chicken erythroid nuclear proteins which bind to the nuclease hypersensitive regions upstream of the beta A- and beta H-globin genes.

Chicken erythrocyte sequence-specific nuclear DNA-binding proteins, which bind to the 5'-flanking DNAseI hypersensitive sites of the erythrocyte chromosomal beta A- and beta H-globin genes, have been fractionated by HPLC gel filtration. Three beta A-globin gene DNA binding activities (to sites A, B and B' (10-12)) were separated. The erythroid precursor cell line HD3 has beta A-globin gene sites B and B' binding activities, but binding to site A is detected only after the HD3 cells are induced to differentiate. The fractionated protein binds to a redefined site B', which contains at its center the globin CACCC consensus sequence. The chromosomal beta H-globin gene has two 5'-flanking DNAseI hypersensitive sites which bracket two sequences (H and H') bound by erythrocyte and HD3 nuclear protein in vitro. The beta H- and beta A-globin gene binding sites (H and B) contain variants of the sequences bound by Nuclear Factor 1 and the TGGCA-binding protein, and their protein binding activity(ies) co-purify after HPLC gel filtration.