[Construction of tumor cell-specific expression vector modulated by human telomerase reserse transcription gene core promoter].

AIM: To construct the tumor cell-specific expression vector modulated by human telomerase reserse transcription gene (hTERT) core promoter. METHODS: The hTERT gene core promoter fragment was amplified by PCR using the total genomic DNA from SKOV3 cells as template. The amplified gene fragment was subsequently cloned into pIRES2-EGFP vector. Then the expression vector modulated by hTERT core gene promoter was transfected into tumor cell lines, HO-8910, Hela and normal ECV304 cells through lipofectamine, respectively. The activity of reporter gene GFP was detected 48 h after transfection. RESULTS: There was significant transcriptional activity in 3 kinds of transfected tumor cells, while no transcriptional activity was detected in transfected normal cells. CONCLUSION: The hTERT core gene promoter has the tumor specificity, suggesting that the specific expression vector modulated by hTERT core gene promoter may be a novel and promising approach to the tumor treatment.