An electrophile responsive element (EpRE) regulates β-naphthoflavone induction of the human γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase regulatory subunit gene: Constitutive expression is mediated by an adjacent ap-1 site

Abstract

Exposure of HepG2 cells to β-naphthoflavone (β-NF) results in time- and dose-dependent increase in the steady-state mRNA levels for both the catalytic (GCS(h)) and regulatory (GCS1) subunits of γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase (GCS) which catalyzes the rate-limiting step in the de novo synthesis of the cellular antioxidant glutathione (GSH) (Mulcahy, R. T., Wartman, M. A., Bailey, H. B., and Gipp, J. J. (1997) J. Biol. Chem. 272, 7445-7454). Cloning and sequencing of the GCS1 promoter region is reported. Regulatory sequences mediating basal and β-NF induced expression of the GCS1 gene were identified using a series of promoter/reporter fusion genes transfected into HepG2 cells. Sequences directing basal and β-NF induced expression were localized between nucleotides -344 and -242 (numbered relative to the translation start site). Mutational analyses indicate that basal expression of the GCS1 gene is directed by a consensus AP-1-binding site located 33 base pairs upstream of a consensus electrophile responsive element (EpRE) sequence; both cis-elements are capable of supporting β-NF inducibility. Elimination of the inducible response requires simultaneous mutation of both sequences, however, in the presence of an intact EpRE the upstream AP-1 site is irrelevant to induction. Regulation of expression of both human GCS subunit genes in response to β-NF is therefore mediated by cis-elements satisfying the consensus core EpRE motif.