Identification of a lens-specific cis-acting element within the basal promoter of the human lens intrinsic membrane protein MP19 gene (LIM2).

Using overlapping and mutant oligonucleotides as probes, gel mobility assays and competition experiments identified a sequence from -47 to -32 bp upstream of the LIM2 CAP site, which a lens protein complex bound with high affinity which appeared to bind only to the "sense" strand of the double-stranded DNA molecule. This sequence consisted of a string of four guanine residues followed by seven other nucleotides (AACCTAA) and followed by another four guanines, i.e.