Targeting of therapeutic gene expression to the liver by using liver-type pyruvate kinase proximal promoter and the SV40 viral enhancer active in multiple cell types.
To achieve the liver-directed expression in sufficient amounts of therapeutic genes for successful and safe gene therapy, natural liver-specific promoters can be used to direct the expression of therapeutic genes in the liver, whereas strong viral enhancers were used to obtain sufficient amounts of expressed therapeutic gene products. However, very often use of either the former or the latter does not guarantee both potent and liver-specific therapeutic gene expression. Here we conglomerate them and thus create a potent tissue-specific promoter by characterizing and using the liver-type pyruvate kinase proximal promoter (LPKPP) harboring its TATA box and a HNF-1alpha binding site. Alone it hardly activated its reporter gene expression in non-hepatocytes or hepatocytes. However, in the presence of the SV40 viral enhancer (SV40VE), which is active in multiple cell types, it was able to potently activate its reporter gene expression specifically in hepatocytes. The tissue-specific activation of the LPKPP by the viral enhancer was attributed to HNF-1alpha binding to the LPKPP. Taken together, these results support the idea that the constitutively active SV40VE could be used to activate the LPKPP in a tissue-specific manner in the presence of HNF-1alpha. To our knowledge, this is the first study to utilize HNF-1alpha and its binding site, in the context of the LPKPP, to generate a basal promoter that is transcriptionally activated potently in a tissue-specific manner by a viral enhancer that is active in multiple cell types.
Park
Cheol Won
CW
Institute of Endocrine Research, College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea.
Park
Young Mi
YM
Lee
Geun Taek
GT
Lee
Yongho
Y
Woo
Seonock
S
Cha
Ji-Young
JY
Ahn
Chul Woo
CW
Cha
Bong Soo
BS
Kim
Kyung-Sup
KS
Ahn
Yong-ho
YH
Lee
Hyun Chul
HC
D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D004742:Enhancer Elements, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000235:genetics; D018390:Gene Targeting / Q000379:methods*; D015316:Genetic Therapy / Q000379:methods; D018197:Hepatoblastoma / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051537:Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 1; D051538:Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 1-alpha; D051539:Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 1-beta; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism*; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D009928:Organ Specificity; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D011770:Pyruvate Kinase / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D000091262:TEA Domain Transcription Factors; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*
D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C496487:HNF1A protein, human; C496495:HNF1B protein, human; D051538:Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 1-alpha; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D000091262:TEA Domain Transcription Factors; C057182:TEAD1 protein, human; D014157:Transcription Factors; D051537:Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 1; D051539:Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 1-beta; D011770:Pyruvate Kinase