Human CREM gene: evolutionary conservation, chromosomal localization, and inducibility of the transcript.

The CREM (cyclic AMP-responsive element modulator) gene encodes multiple regulators of the cyclic AMP transcriptional response. CREM expression has been linked with several key physiological aspects of neuroendocrine pathways. We investigated the conservation of CREM during evolution. Here, we show conservation of CREM sequences in the pig, humans, the chicken, the lemur, and Xenopus. We have also determined the chromosomal localization of the CREM and CREB genes both in the mouse and in humans. We cloned the full human CREM complementary DNA sequence and demonstrate that it has a high degree of sequence identity with the mouse gene. Finally, we show the conservation of CREM cyclic AMP transcriptional inducibility in humans and establish that the induced transcripts correspond to the mouse ICER products.