title: Cloning and functional characterization of the bovine endothelin-converting enzyme-1a promoter.
abstract: Endothelin-converting enzyme-1 (ECE-1) mRNA is expressed in three isoforms, termed a, b, and c, originating from alternative promoters. In cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells, we detected mRNA isoform expression of ECE-1a and ECE-1b/c, respectively. Investigating transcriptional mechanisms of bovine endothelial ECE-1a expression in more detail, we identified multiple transcription start sites localized 120-415 nucleotides upstream from the presumptive translation start codon by RNase protection assay and 5' RACE. Using luciferase reporter gene assays we found that 1.4 kb of the 5' untranslated region showed strong promoter activity in endothelial cells. Sequence analysis revealed 71% overall homology of the bovine ECE-1a promoter with its human homologue. The proximal 680 base pair promoter region was shown to contain cis elements that are sufficient for basal and serum-induced transcriptional activation.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Benjamin Franklin Medical Center, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: H D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Orzechowski
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Richter
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Funke-Kaiser
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lemmer
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Theis
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Paul
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016282:Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D002417:Cattle; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D016384:Consensus Sequence; D000072396:Endothelin-Converting Enzymes; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000378:metabolism*; D008156:Luciferases / Q000235:genetics; D008666:Metalloendopeptidases; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015533:Transcriptional Activation; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D008156:Luciferases; D016282:Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases; D008666:Metalloendopeptidases; C000606923:ECE1 protein, human; D000072396:Endothelin-Converting Enzymes