Abstract
We have previosly shown that the multidrug-resistance/P-glycoprotein gene, mdr3/mdrla, is activated in mouse hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC). In this study, we show that in a number of HCC-derived cell lines (Hepa1c1c, Hepa1c1c-BprC1, and Hepa1–6) mdr3 is expressed at high levels. To investigate transcriptional regulation of mdr3 in these cells, we have isolated a DNA fragment containing the 5′ portion of the mouse mdr3 gene and performed a functional analysis of its promoter. Transient transfection assays using various lengths of the promoter sequence to direct expression of the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) reporter gene revealed that the sequence located –94 nucleotides upstream from mouse mdr3 transcription start site functions as a negative element in mouse hepatoma cells. A canonical AP-1 binding sequence TGAGTCA located at –117 is at least in part responsible for the negative effect from the following observations: (i) Alteration of this AP-1 sequence by site-directed mutagenesis enhanced CAT expression. (ii) Expression of CAT reporter gene was elevated when double-stranded DNA containing the AP-1 sequence, but not mutated sequences, was used as a competitor in cotransfection experiment. (iii) Enhancement of the CAT expression was also seen in cotransfection experiments using recombinant plasmid DNA expressing the c-jun/ c-fos proteins, which interact with AP-1 sequences. Interestingly, the proximal region of the hamster pgpl promoter shares striking sequence similarity with that of the mouse mdr3 gene, including the AP-1 site, but the AP-1 site in the hamster promoter serves as a positive regulator. Although previous studies have demonstrated that positive and negative transcription factors can modulate gene expression through interactions with c-jun/c-fos, this is the first study to show that an AP-1 site functions as a negative cis-element in the regulation of gene expression.
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