Transferrin: Evolution and Genetic Regulation of Expression

Transferrin (TF) is a member of a conserved family of genes that have remained linked on the same chromosome for hundreds of millions of years. The TF gene is a member of a primitive family of genes which has remained chromosomally linked and structurally homologous. Each gene in the transferrin family encodes conserved sequences of the proteins that probably contribute to the iron-binding functions and contains conserved chromosomal DNA in the promoter regions that account for tissue-specific expression. The TF gene appears to be active in autocrine systems where a cell is stimulated by a factor which it synthesizes and to which it contains a receptor. This chapter concludes that analysis of TF gene expression in every possible cell type throughout development into the aging process offers a promising model for learning more about gene modulation.