Abstract
Deoxycytidine kinase (EC 2.7.1.74, dCK) is central to drug activity of anticancer and antiviral agents such as cytosine arabinoside (araC) and gemcitabine. HepG2 hepatocellular carcinoma cells were used to study the transcriptional regulation of dCK. 5'-Deletion and site-directed mutagenesis of the dCK upstream region (positions -464 to -27) confirmed the importance of two GC-boxes (positions -317 to -309 and -213 to -206) and two E-boxes (positions -302 to -297 and -278 to -273). In vitro electromobility shift assays with HepG2 nuclear extracts and in vivo chromatin immunoprecipitation assays with HepG2 chromatin extracts confirmed the presence of bound Sp1/Sp3 and USF1/2. Co-transfections in HepG2 cells showed that USF1 and USF2a stimulated and Sp1 repressed promoter activity from a dCK-luciferase reporter gene construct. In Sp- and USF-null Drosophila Mel-2 cells, both Sp1 and USF1 stimulated dCK promoter activity in a dose-dependent manner, however, both Sp3 and USF2a were effectively inert. Combined Sp1 and USF1 showed additive transactivation at lower concentrations of Sp1. Sp1 was inhibitory at higher levels. Stimulation by combined USF1/USF2a with Sp1 was similar to that for USF1 alone with Sp1, whereas transactivation by Sp1 and USF2a without USF1 was synergistic. Physical interactions between USF and Sp proteins were confirmed by immunoprecipitations with Sp- and USF-specific antibodies. Domain mapping of USF1 and USF2a localized the functional interactions between USF and Sp proteins to the DNA binding domain of USF. Identifying the physical and functional interactions between Sp and USF proteins may lead to a better understanding of the basis for differential expression of the dCK gene in tumor cells and may foster strategies for up-regulating dCK gene expression and improving chemotherapy with araC and gemcitabine.
Highlights
The product of dCK gene is a 30.5-kDa polypeptide that is present at low levels in most tissues [7,8,9,10]
Localization of the Major cis-Elements in the dCK Promoter by 5Ј-Deletion and Mutation Analysis—A previous report demonstrated that two GC-boxes and one E-box (positions Ϫ302 to Ϫ297; designated E-box (a)) (Fig. 1) are important for dCK promoter activity in human lymphoblast cell lines [12]
Our previous study of determinants of araC response in DS myeloblasts compared with non-DS myeloblasts, described a significant median 2.6-fold increased dCK expression in DS myeloblasts accompanying dramatically enhanced araC sensitivities [29]
Summary
The product of dCK gene is a 30.5-kDa polypeptide that is present at low levels in most tissues [7,8,9,10]. Promoter activity was localized to a 697-bp upstream fragment, including 386 bp of 5Ј upstream region, 250 bp of exon 1, and 61 bp of intronic sequence [11]. The dCK promoter is highly GC-rich and lacks a TATA-box but contains a transcription initiator region located adjacent to the major transcription start site at position Ϫ146 relative to the start of translation. Site-directed mutagenesis of these cis-elements implied their transcriptional importance, the detailed mechanisms by which these binding associations regulate dCK gene expression have not been established. Sp1 and the related Sp3 proteins can exert activating or inhibiting effects on transcription, depending on the cell or promoter context, through binding to GC- or GT-box elements [13]. N-terminal transactivation domains, yet all forms bind to the E-box motif (CACGTG) as homo- and heterodimers [18, 19]
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