Arginase I expression in the liver must remain constant throughout life to eliminate excess nitrogen via the urea cycle. In contrast, arginase I expression in macrophages is silent until signals from Th2 cytokines such as IL-4 and IL-13 are received and the mRNA is then induced four to five orders of magnitude. Arginase I is hypothesized to play a regulatory and potentially pathogenic role in diseases such as asthma, parasitic, bacterial, and worm infections by modulating NO levels and promoting fibrosis. We show that Th2-inducible arginase I expression in mouse macrophages is controlled by an enhancer that lies −3 kb from the basal promoter. PU.1, IL-4-induced STAT6, and C/EBPβ assemble at the enhancer and await the effect of another STAT6-regulated protein(s) that must be synthesized de novo. Identification of a powerful extrahepatic regulatory enhancer for arginase I provides potential to manipulate arginase I activity in immune cells while sparing liver urea cycle function.
CITATION STYLE
Pauleau, A.-L., Rutschman, R., Lang, R., Pernis, A., Watowich, S. S., & Murray, P. J. (2004). Enhancer-Mediated Control of Macrophage-Specific Arginase I Expression. The Journal of Immunology, 172(12), 7565–7573. https://doi.org/10.4049/jimmunol.172.12.7565
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