title: cis-Acting elements within CFTR 5'-flanking DNA are not sufficient to decrease gene expression in response to phorbol ester.
abstract: The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene (CFTR) is regulated in a tissue-specific and developmental fashion. Although it has been known for some time that phorbol esters decrease CFTR expression in cell lines that have high CFTR mRNA levels, the cis-acting elements that control this down-regulation remain ill-defined. The role of cis-acting elements within the CFTR minimal promoter in modulating responses to phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and forskolin was assessed using luciferase reporter gene (luc)-containing plasmids transfected into Calu-3 and HT-29 cells. PMA treatment had no effect on luciferase activity in Calu-3 cells transiently transfected with plasmids containing luc driven by up to 2.3 kb of CFTR 5'-flanking DNA. PMA increased luciferase activity in transfected HT-29 cells. A more extensive region of DNA was evaluated using a yeast artificial chromosome (YAC) containing luc driven by approximately 335 of CFTR 5'-flanking DNA (y5'luc) stably introduced into HT-29 cells. Clonal cell lines containing y5'luc were created and assessed for luciferase activity at baseline and in response to forskolin and PMA. There was a wide range of baseline luciferase activities among the clones (42-1038 units/microg protein) that was not entirely due to the number of luc copies present within the cells. Treatment with both PMA and forskolin led to increased luciferase activity in six randomly selected clonal cell lines. As expected, endogenous CFTR expression increased in response to forskolin and decreased in response to PMA. These studies demonstrate that luc-containing YAC vectors can be used to study CFTR expression in human cells. In addition, these data suggest that important regulatory elements responsible for decreased CFTR expression in response to PMA are not located upstream of CFTR in the approximately 335 kb 5'-flanking sequence included in this YAC construct.
authors.affiliation: Eudowood Division of Pediatric Respiratory Sciences, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, 600 North Wolfe Street, Park 316, Baltimore, MD 21287-2533, USA. mogayzel@mail.jhmi.edu
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Mogayzel
authors.forename: Muneer
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Esmail
authors.forename: Traci L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: Pamela L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Zeitlin
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ashlock
mesh_terms: D024506:5' Flanking Region / Q000235:genetics*; D000230:Adenocarcinoma; D000818:Animals; D005576:Colforsin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019005:Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects*; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D006801:Humans; D008156:Luciferases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008175:Lung Neoplasms; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013755:Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: C505032:CFTR protein, human; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D019005:Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator; D005576:Colforsin; D008156:Luciferases; D013755:Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate