Enhancer and promoter elements directing activation and glucocorticoid repression of the alpha 1-fetoprotein gene in hepatocytes.

Mutations were introduced in 7 kilobases of 5'-flanking rat alpha 1-fetoprotein (AFP) genomic DNA, linked to the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene. AFP promoter activity and its repression by a glucocorticoid hormone were assessed by stable and transient expression assays. Stable transfection assays were more sensitive and accurate than transient expression assays in a Morris 7777 rat hepatoma recipient (Hepa7.6), selected for its strong AFP repression by dexamethasone. The segment of DNA encompassing a hepatocyte-constitutive chromatin DNase I-hypersensitive site at -3.7 kilobases and a liver developmental stage-specific site at -2.5 kilobases contains interacting enhancer elements sufficient for high AFP promoter activity in Hepa7.6 or HepG2 cells. Deletions and point mutations define an upstream promoter domain of AFP gene activation, operating with at least three distinct promoter-activating elements, PEI at -65 base pairs, PEII at -120 base pairs, and DE at -160 base pairs. PEI and PEII share homologies with albumin promoter sequences, PEII is a near-consensus nuclear factor I recognition sequence, and DE overlaps a glucocorticoid receptor recognition sequence. An element conferring glucocorticoid repression of AFP gene activity is located in the upstream AFP promoter domain. Receptor-binding assays indicate that this element is the glucocorticoid receptor recognition sequence which overlaps with promoter-activating element DE.     

The stringency and magnitude of androgen-specific gene activation are combinatorial functions of receptor and nonreceptor binding site sequences.

The mechanism by which specific hormonal regulation of gene expression is attained in vivo is a paradox in that several of the steroid receptors recognize the same DNA element in vitro. We have characterized a complex enhancer of the mouse sex-limited protein (Slp) gene that is activated exclusively by androgens but not by glucocorticoids in transfection. Potent androgen induction requires both the consensus hormone response element (HRE) and auxiliary elements residing within the 120-bp DNA fragment C' delta 9. Multiple nonreceptor factors are involved in androgen specificity, with respect to both the elevation of androgen receptor activity and the inactivity of glucocorticoid receptor (GR), since clustered base changes at any of several sites reduce or abolish androgen induction and do not increase glucocorticoid response. However, moving the HRE as little as 10 bases away from the rest of the enhancer allows GR to function, suggesting that GR is repressed by juxtaposition to particular factors within the androgen-specific complex. Surprisingly, some sequence variations of the HRE itself, within the context of C' delta 9, alter the stringency of specificity, as well as the magnitude, of hormonal response. These HRE sequence effects on expression correspond in a qualitative manner with receptor binding, i.e., GR shows a threefold difference in affinities for HREs amongst which androgen receptor does not discriminate. Altering the HRE orientation within the enhancer also affects hormonal stringency, increasing glucocorticoid but not androgen response. The effect of these subtle variations suggests that they alter receptor position with respect to other factors. Thus, protein-protein interactions that elicit specific gene regulation are established by the array of DNA elements in a complex enhancer and can be modulated by sequence variations within these elements that may influence selection of precise protein contacts.     

Tissue-specific enhancer of the human glycoprotein hormone alpha-subunit gene: dependence on cyclic AMP-inducible elements.

We identified and characterized elements which confer tissue specificity and cyclic AMP (cAMP) responsiveness to the human glycoprotein alpha-subunit gene. An enhancer containing an 18-base-pair repeat conferred cAMP responsiveness in a non-tissue-specific fashion. DNase I protection assays revealed DNA-binding factors that bound to this element in both placental and nonplacental cells. It also enhanced the alpha-subunit promoter in a tissue-specific manner but had a negligible effect on a heterologous promoter. A unique element found upstream of this enhancer had no independent activity but, in combination with the cAMP-responsive enhancer, distinctly increased the tissue-specific activity of both the alpha-subunit promoter and a heterologous promoter. A factor that bound to this upstream element was found in placental but not nonplacental cells. We conclude that this novel element acts, perhaps through a specific trans-acting factor, in concert with a cAMP-responsive enhancer to confer tissue specificity to the alpha-subunit gene.     

Alignment of U3 region sequences of mammalian type C viruses: identification of highly conserved motifs and implications for enhancer design.

We aligned published sequences for the U3 region of 35 type C mammalian retroviruses. The alignment reveals that certain sequence motifs within the U3 region are strikingly conserved. A number of these motifs correspond to previously identified sites. In particular, we found that the enhancer region of most of the viruses examined contains a binding site for leukemia virus factor b, a viral corelike element, the consensus motif for nuclear factor 1, and the glucocorticoid response element. Most viruses containing more than one copy of enhancer sequences include these binding sites in both copies of the repeat. We consider this set of binding sites to constitute a framework for the enhancers of this set of viruses. Other highly conserved motifs in the U3 region include the retrovirus inverted repeat sequence, a negative regulatory element, and the CCAAT and TATA boxes. In addition, we identified two novel motifs in the promoter region that were exceptionally highly conserved but have not been previously described.     

Highly inducible expression from vectors containing multiple GRE''s in CHO cells overexpressing the glucocorticoid receptor.

A conditional glucocorticoid-responsive expression vector system is described for highly inducible expression of heterologous genes in mammalian cells. This host-vector system requires high level expression of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) protein in the host cell and multiple copies of the receptor binding site within the expression vector. Transfection and selection of Chinese hamster ovary cells with expression vectors encoding the rat GR yielded cell lines which express functional receptor at high levels. Insertion of multiple copies of the MMTV enhancer (glucocorticoid responsive element, GRE) into an Adenovirus major late promoter (AdMLP) based expression vector yielded greater than 1000-fold inducible expression by dexamethasone (dex) in transient DNA transfection assays. The induced expression level was 7-fold greater than that obtained with an AdMLP based vector containing an SV40 enhancer, but lacking GRE's. Vectors containing the SV40 enhancer in combination with multiple GRE's exhibited elevated basal expression in the absence of dex, but retained inducibility in both transient assays and after integration and amplification in the CHO genome. This expression system should be of general utility for studying gene regulation and for expressing heterologous genes in a regulatable fashion.