Identifizierung potentieller Zielgene des Transkriptionsfaktors Sp3 in vitro und in vivo

Sp3 (specificity protein 3) is an ubiquitously expressed transcription factor closely related to Sp1. We have disrupted the mouse Sp3 gene by homologous recombination. Sp3-deficient embryos are growth retarded and invariably die at birth of respiratory failure. The cause for the observed breathing defect remains obscure since only minor morphological alterations were observed in the lung, and surfactant protein expression is indistinguishable from that in wild-type mice. Histopathological examination of the lung revealed that lung tissue of Sp3 null mice is more compact, featuring a smaller mean alveolar space diameter and thicker septa between the alveoli. The intention of my work was to find target genes for transcription factor Sp 3 in vitro an in vivo.