(Received for publication, October 12, 1995; and in revised form, January 11, 1996)
From the
Prostate cancer can be detected using assays for blood-borne prostate-specific antigen (PSA), which is the clinically most useful diagnostic marker of malignant disease. This paper characterizes the 5`-flanking prostate-specific enhancer which controls expression of the human PSA gene This enhancer, located between -5824 and -3738, is androgen-responsive and requires a promoter for activity. Inductions of 12-100-fold activity occur at 1 nM concentrations of the testosterone analog R1881. The enhancer demonstrated tissue specificity as judged by transfections of several human cell lines. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays comparing nuclear extracts from breast cancer cells MCF-7, and prostate cancer cells LNCaP, showed three regions of prostate-specific binding. These three regions are -4168 to -4797 (region I), -4710 to 4479 (region II), and -4168 to -3801 (region III). Region III contained a putative androgen response element at -4136 that markedly affected activity if mutated. These data suggest that prostate-specific gene expression may involve interaction of prostate-specific proteins or protein complexes with the enhancer in addition to binding of the androgen receptor to androgen response elements.
The human kallikrein gene family consists of three members:
prostate-specific antigen (PSA), ()glandular kallikrein
(hGK-1), and pancreatic/renal kallikrein
(hPRK)(1, 2, 3) . PSA is a M
= 34,000 chymotrypsin-like protein that is synthesized
exclusively by normal, hyperplastic, and malignant prostatic
epithelia(4, 5) . This property of PSA has permitted
its use clinically as a biomarker for benign prostatic hyperplasia and
prostatic carcinoma (CaP). Rising levels of PSA above 10 ng/ml in the
blood are indicative of benign prostatic hyperplasia or
CaP(6, 7) . In end-stage metastatic CaP, serum PSA
levels can exceed 200 ng/ml.
The clinical utility of PSA rests on its highly tissue-specific expression pattern, of which a portion is contributed by androgen regulation of transcription via the androgen receptor (AR)(5, 8, 9) . The AR modulates transcription through its interaction with its consensus DNA binding site, GGTACAnnnTGTT/CCT, termed the androgen response element (ARE). Androgen ablation therapy of CaP leads to reduction in the level of circulating PSA(7) . In LNCaP cells, a cell line derived from a lymph node metastasis of CaP and which synthesizes PSA(10) , treatment with androgens induces PSA transcription and treatment with antiandrogens results in suppression(11, 12) . A close match to the androgen response element (ARE) consensus sequence was identified in the 5`-flanking promoter region of the PSA gene(13) . While this potential ARE was shown to be active by co-transfection of CV-1 cells with AR, the promoter fragment itself is inactive in LNCaP cells.It appears that additional sequences are required for the prostate-specific regulation of the PSA gene.
Other androgen-responsive genes such as the prostatic binding protein C3 (1) gene and mouse vas deferens protein gene are regulated by enhancers separated from the promoter region(14, 15) . Given the medical importance of the PSA gene, regions farther upstream of the coding region were examined for regulatory sequences. In this paper we describe the identification and characterization of an androgen-responsive enhancer located between -5327 and -3737 relative to the start of transcription of the PSA gene. This enhancer is selectively active in LNCaP cells in vitro and stimulated 10- to 100-fold increases in transcription when linked to the PSA gene promoter. Within the sequence of this enhancer is a potential ARE; alterations in the sequence of this element can either increase or decrease transactivation of linked reporter genes. When analyzed by electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) proteins from nuclear extracts were found to complex with extensive regions of the enhancer. Protein-DNA complexes specific to LNCaP extracts were formed with three regions of the enhancer, including the region around the putative ARE.
The HBL100(17) , MCF-7(18) , Ovcar-3(19) , Panc-1(20) , and DU-145 (21) cells lines were also obtained from the American Type Culture Collection. The 293 cell line (22) was obtained from Microbix, Inc. (Ontario, Canada). These cells lines were maintained in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium supplemented with 6 g/liter glucose, as well as fetal bovine serum and antibiotics as above.
DNA manipulations of various plasmids derived in this study were performed by conventional molecular biology techniques(24) . Restriction enzymes and other modifying enzymes were purchased from various sources including Pharmacia Biotech Inc., Life Technologies, Inc., and New England Biolabs. CN13 was constructed by inserting the 5.8-kb HindIII fragment from CN0 in pCAT basic in the correct orientation. CN22 is the 5.8-kb HindIII fragment from CN0 in correct orientation in CN20 (Bluescript KSII+ containing PstI/BamHI of pCAT basic, the CAT gene). CN23 is the 5.3-kb XbaI/HindIII fragment of CN0 in pCAT basic. CN25 is CN22 cut with ClaI and recircularized; this leaves 4.2 kb of the 5` PSA fragment driving CAT. CN33 is the BglII/BamHI, (-541 bp to +12 of the PSA gene fused to CAT) from CN22 in BamHI cut BsKSII+; KpnI 5` orientation. CN34 is the BglII/BamHI, (-541 bp to +12 of the PSA gene fused to CAT) from CN22 in BamHI cut BsKSII+ in the opposite orientation to CN33. CN62 is CN13 cut with ClaI and BglII, Klenow end filled, and ligated; the region from -4136 to -541 upstream of the PSA gene is deleted. CN65 was constructed from CN0 PCR amplified with upstream primer 15.59A (5`-TAGGTACCTCTAGAAATCTAGCTGA) and downstream primer 15.59B (5`-AGCTCGAGCTCGGGATCCTGAG), cut with KpnI and XhoI, ligated into similarly cut CN33; it contains -5322 to -3738 of the PSA upstream region and the promoter from -541 to +12. CN68 was constructed from CN23 cut with ClaI, end-filled with Klenow, and religated. CN69 was constructed from CN23 cut with ClaI, S1 nuclease-treated, and religated. CN70 was constructed from CN0 PCR-amplified with primers 15.59A and 10.150.2 (5`-AGCTCGAGAAGCAGGCATCCTTG), cut with KpnI and XhoI, ligated into similarly cut CN33, and contains -5322 to -4023 of the PSE and -541 to +12 of the PSA upstream region. CN71 was constructed from CN0 PCR amplified with primers 15.59A and 10.150.1 (5`-AGCTCGAGTTGAGACTGTCCTGC), cut with KpnI and XhoI, and ligated into similarly cut CN33. It contains -5322 to -3873 of the PSE and -541 to +12 of the PSA promoter. CN72 was constructed from CN0 PCR-amplified with primers 15.59A and 10.164.1 (5`-AGGGTACCTTCGGGATCCTGAG), cut with KpnI, and ligated into similarly cut CN33. CN72 contains -5322 to -3738 upstream of the PSA gene and -541 to +12 of the PSA promoter in the opposite orientation to the wild type enhancer. CN73 was constructed as described for CN72 with the upstream region ligated in the wild type orientation. CN74 and CN75 were constructed as for CN72 and CN73 with the enhancer PCR fragment ligated to KpnI-cut CN34; CN75 is in the wild type orientation relative to the promoter, and CN74 is in the opposite orientation. To construct a reporter plasmid with the PSA enhancer linked to the SV40 early promoter, CN20 was cut with HindIII and XhoI, then ligated to the SV40 early promoter from similarly cut pGL2 to create CN109. CN110 is the KpnI/XhoI fragment of CN65 ligated to similarly cut CN109 placing the PSA enhancer upstream of the SV40 early promoter in the correct orientation.
Selected constructs generated by PCR were sequenced to ensure sequence fidelity. The constructs were sequenced on one strand as described above. The constructs which were sequenced were: CN65, CN70 through CN75, CN109, and CN110.
For CAT assays, the cells were harvested by removing the medium, washing the cells once with phosphate-buffered saline, and incubating in 1 ml of TEN buffer (50 mM Tris, pH 7.5, 150 mM NaCl, 1 mM EDTA) for 5 min. Cells were scraped off the dishes, and extracts were made by pelleting the cells, resuspending the cell pellet in 100 µl of 0.25 M Tris, pH 7.8, and then subjecting the cell suspension to three freeze-thaw cycles. Cell debris was pelleted and the supernatant was transferred to fresh tubes and stored at -80 °C. Protein concentration of extracts was measured using the Bradford assay.
Quantitative CAT
assays were performed as described previously(24) . Briefly,
cell extracts were normalized for protein content, followed by diluting
equal quantities of protein to 90 µl with 0.25 M Tris, pH
7.8. Ten microliters of a 10 CAT substrate mixture (20 mCi/ml
[
H]chloramphenicol (DuPont NEN), 0.63
10
M chloramphenicol, 2.5
10
M butyryl coenzyme A in water) was added
to each sample and vortexed briefly. Samples were incubated at 37
°C for 2 h followed by a single extraction with 100 µl of a 1:1
mixture of xylenes and tetramethylpentadecane. The organic phase was
transferred to scintillation vials containing Biosafe NA scintillation
fluid (Research Products International) and counted. A standard curve
was constructed by assaying purified CAT enzyme. Assays for
-galactosidase were performed on cell lysates as described
previously(26) .
DNA probes for EMSA were constructed by synthesizing a series of 16 overlapping polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products spanning -5443 to -3738 relative to the start of PSA gene transcription. The locations of the segments defined by the PCR primer pairs are diagrammed under ``Results''; primer sequences are omitted here but will be provided upon request. PCR samples were composed of 1 unit of Taq DNA polymerase (Stratagene), 1 ng of CN0, PCR buffer supplied by the manufacturer, 200 µM nucleotides, and 50 pmol of each primer. Following an initial denaturing step at 94 °C for 2 min, for each of 25 cycles the template was denatured for 45 s at 94 °C followed by primer annealing at 50 °C for 90 s, then extension of the annealed primers at 72 °C for 60 s. Amplification was completed with a final extension step at 72 °C for 5 min.
Labeled DNA segments, as
defined by the primer pair, were made by modifying the above PCR
protocol. A mixture of 5 pmol of each primer was labeled with P using T4 polynucleotide kinase in a 10 µl reaction
volume and reacted at 37 °C for 1 h. The kinase reaction mixture
was then added to 90 µl of PCR mixture containing sufficient
template, nucleotides, buffer, and polymerase for a 100-µl
reaction. The samples were then cycled as described above. Following
amplification, the samples were electrophoresed through a 5%
acrylamide, 0.5
TBE gel at 150 V. Labeled PCR product was
detected by autoradiography. A gel slice containing the labeled DNA was
excised, minced, and resuspended in TE overnight at 37 °C to elute
the DNA. Labeled DNA in the supernatant was removed, an aliquot was
counted, and then it was diluted to 3,500 cpm/µl.
EMSA
procedures were as described(29) . Binding reactions were
assembled with 0.5 µl (approximately 1.5-3.0 µg of
protein) of extract, 3 µg of poly(dIdC) (1 mg/ml in water,
Pharmacia Biotech Inc.), 10,000 cpm of probe in 3 µl of water, 5
µl (approximately 20-100 ng of DNA) of unlabeled PCR product
as a competitor, and binding buffer to 20 µl. Binding reactions
were incubated on ice for 15 min, then electrophoresed through a 4%
acrylamide, 0.25
TBE gel at 150 V at 4 °C. The gels were
dried and exposed to Kodak X-Omat AR film at -80 °C for
14-40 h.
Figure 1: Response of PSA reporter constructs to androgen treatment. LNCaP cells were transfected with the reporter constructs CN23, CN25, and CN33 as described under ``Materials and Methods.'' The cells were incubated in RPMI 1640 medium containing 10% stripped serum and the indicated concentration of R1881 for 48 h. The cells were harvested, and extracts of the cells were made by freeze-thaw as described under ``Materials and Methods.'' Duplicate samples of cell extracts normalized for protein content were assayed for CAT activity for 2 h at 37 °C, then butyrylated chloramphenicol was extracted from the samples and counted. Data were calculated as fold induction over the no CAT enzyme control sample value of 500 cpm. Fold inductions of duplicate samples were averaged and are displayed with their standard errors. The thick lines represent the regions of the PSA gene upstream HindIII fragment retained in the constructs. CN23 contains the 5`-flanking region of the PSA gene between the XbaI site at -5322 and the HindIII site at +12; CN33 contains the -541 to +12 region; CN25 is truncated at the ClaI site at -4136. Hatched bars = CN23; stippled bars = CN25; solid bars = CN33. The structures of the reporter constructs are diagrammed below the column chart.
Figure 2: Sequence of the 5.8-kb HindIII fragment 5` to the PSA gene. Sequencing was performed as described under ``Materials and Methods,'' and sequence segments were assembled using AssemblyLign software (IBI/Kodak). Overlined sequences indicate homonucleotide sequences, underlined sequences indicate consensus recognition sites for transcription factors as described in the text. The TATA box is indicated by both over- and underlines. Nucleotide position +1 corresponds to the 5`-most cap site as defined by Lundwall(13) .
Figure 3: Restriction map of the 5.8-kb HindIII fragment. The location of selected restriction enzyme cut sites are indicated. The scale is in bases. Sites were determined by nucleotide sequencing and confirmed by restriction enzyme digestion. The location of selected sequence features are indicated below the line.
Figure 4: Boundary locations for the PSA gene upstream enhancer. LNCaP cells were transfected and assayed for CAT activity as described under ``Materials and Methods.'' Data are expressed as fold induction of duplicate samples over CN33. Thick lines represent portions of the 5` HindIII fragment of the PSA gene present in the constructs. A, CN23, CN33, and CN25 are as in Fig. 1.; CN51 is CN23 truncated at -5214; CN50 is CN23 truncated at -4682; CN52 is CN23 truncated at -4522; CN25. B, CN65 contains the upstream -5322 to -3738 region 5` to the promoter in CN33; CN71 contains the -5322 to -3875 region 5` to the promoter; CN70 contains the -5322 to -4023 region 5` to the promoter; CN62 contains the -5322 to -4136 XbaI/ClaI fragment 5` to the promoter.
The 3` border of the upstream element was mapped by constructing reporter plasmids containing upstream sequences starting at the XbaI site and extending to variable distances downstream of the ClaI site which were cloned upstream of the PSA gene promoter through the BglII site. Fig. 4B shows an induction of 27-fold for CN23 while CN33 was not inducible. Removal of the sequences between -3738 and -541 (CN65) resulted in a 38-fold induction. When the deletion was extended further upstream to -3872 (CN71), the level of induction was approximately double that seen with CN65. Additional deletion to -4022 in CN70 resulted in induction of 32-fold, while removal of the sequences between the ClaI site and the BglII site in CN62 abolished activity of the upstream element. The combination of these results indicate that the 3` border of the upstream enhancer element lies between the ClaI site at -4136 and the end point of CN65 at -3738. In addition, these results suggest that the region between -4022 and -3738 is not necessary for enhancer activity but contains elements that influence the level of transcription.
One of the defining features of enhancer elements is their ability to function in stimulating transcription despite their location or orientation relative to the promoter upon which they act(32) . To determine if the element defined above has these properties, the segment of the upstream region from the XbaI site to -3738 was inserted upstream of the PSA promoter/CAT gene transcription unit in both orientations; the same gene segment was also inserted downstream of the CAT gene in both orientations (Fig. 5). CN73 is essentially the same as CN65 (Fig. 4B) and yielded a 44-fold induction in LNCaP cells treated with R1881. The same segment in the opposite orientation resulted in a 36-fold induction (CN72). This level of induction remained unchanged when the upstream element was moved downstream of the CAT gene with an orientation opposite that in CN73 (CN74). Reversal of this orientation downstream of the CAT gene in CN75 also resulted in a high level of induction of 25-fold. These levels of induction compared to a 1-fold induction using the promoter construct CN33. These results confirm that the element characterized above possesses the properties of an enhancer.
Figure 5: Position and orientation independence of the PSA upstream enhancer. LNCaP cells were transfected and assayed for CAT activity as described in Fig. 4. Data are expressed as fold induction of duplicate samples over the CN33. Thick lines represent portions of the 5` HindIII fragment of the PSA gene present in the constructs. CN72, CN73, CN74, and CN75 each contain the -5322 to -3738 portion of the upstream region of the PSA gene inserted either upstream (CN72 and CN73) or downstream (CN74 and CN75) of the -541 to +12 PSA gene promoter/CAT gene unit. CN73 and CN75 are in the same orientation relative to the promoter as the wild type fragment, CN72 and CN74 are in the opposite orientation.
Despite the presence of ARE
sequences within the upstream enhancer, it is conceivable that the
androgen regulation of PSA expression is contributed by the ARE at
-170. To determine if the PSA enhancer contributes to androgen
responsiveness, the PSA enhancer was placed upstream of the SV40 early
promoter (CN110, Fig. 6). Cultures of LNCaP cells transfected
with CN110, CN109 (containing the SV40 early promoter alone), CN65
(containing the PSA promoter plus enhancer), or CN33 (containing the
PSA promoter alone) were treated with increasing concentrations of
R1881, then assayed for CAT activity. As shown in Fig. 6,
activity of CN110 ranged from 76-fold induction over background in the
absence of R1881 to 206-fold induction at 10M R1881 while activity of CN65 ranged from 37- to 137-fold at these
same R1881 concentrations. CN109 stimulated approximately 16-fold
induction of transcription at all R1881 concentrations, while CN33
activity did not exceed 2-fold activation. CN110 and CN65 displayed
similar patterns of response to increasing R1881 concentrations with
peak levels of transcriptional stimulation observed at 10
M R1881. These data show both that the PSA enhancer is
androgen-responsive and that its activity is independent of the
promoter used.
Figure 6: Promoter independence and androgen responsiveness of the PSA enhancer. LNCaP cells were transfected with the reporter constructs CN109, CN110, CN65, and CN33, cultured in the presence of R1881, and assayed for CAT activity as described in Fig. 1. Fold inductions of duplicate samples were averaged and are displayed with their standard errors. The thick lines with arrowheads represent the PSA enhancer while the thick line adjacent to the CAT gene represents the PSA promoter. The hatched line represents the SV40 early promoter. The structures of the reporter constructs are diagrammed below the column chart.
To determine if the potential ARE at -4148 functions in androgen inducibility of the upstream element, alterations were made within the ClaI site in CN23 to construct CN68 and CN69. The plasmid CN23 was cut with ClaI, then either end-filled with Klenow (CN68) or treated with S1 nuclease (CN69), then religated. The former treatment resulted in addition of a CG dinucleotide 3` to -4136, while the latter treatment removed bases -4137 to -4134. The wild type sequence in CN23 yielded a 27-fold induction in LNCaP cells, while addition of two bases within the ClaI site resulted in half the level of induction (data not shown). Interestingly, removal of the 5 bases within the ClaI site resulted in a 3-fold increase in the level of CAT synthesis relative to the wild type sequence (data not shown). The bases removed reside in the rightmost portion of the potential ARE. These results suggest that this ARE may be functional and that its activity may be influenced by neighboring sequences. These sequences may bind transcription factors which might be required for formation of prostate-specific DNA-protein complexes and for prostate-specific PSA expression (see below).
To this end, a variety of cell lines were transfected with
three reporter constructs: CN13 containing the 5836-bp 5` region, CN65
containing the minimal enhancer/promoter, and CN33 containing the
promoter alone. The cell lines used represent several
hormone-responsive tissues including human breast epithelia (HBL100),
human breast carcinoma (MCF-7), pancreatic cancer (PANC-1), ovarian
carcinoma (OVCAR-3), and prostate carcinoma (LNCaP, DU145). The 293
cell line was derived from human embryonic kidney cells transformed by
adenovirus DNA. The cell lines were transfected as described under
``Materials and Methods'' with reporter DNAs admixed with an
internal control plasmid, pCMV.
The results of such an analysis are shown in Fig. 7. In LNCaP cells, both CN13 and CN65 stimulate CAT synthesis approximately 9-fold above background, while CN33 stimulated a 2-fold accumulation of CAT. In no other cell line did CN13 or CN65 lead to more than a 2-fold induction of CAT synthesis. The highest levels of activity outside of LNCaP cells were observed in Panc-1 and Ovcar-3, where CN13 reached approximately 1.5-fold and 2.5-fold, respectively; CN65 exhibited less than a 2-fold induction in both of these cell lines. Not surprisingly, all three PSA reporter constructs were inactive in the DU145 prostatic carcinoma cell line since the PSA gene is inactive(33) . In contrast to the enhancer-containing reporters, the CN33 construct stimulated CAT synthesis to approximately 2-fold in each of the cell lines tested except Panc-1 where a 5-fold induction was observed. In each case, CN33 was more active than the enhancer-containing constructs.
Figure 7:
Tissue-specific activity of the PSA
enhancer in vitro. Cell lines are described under
``Materials and Methods.'' Cells were transiently
transfected; a constant amount of CMV-GAL plasmid was
co-transfected as an internal control. Cell extracts normalized for
-galactosidase activity were assayed for CAT activity as in Fig. 4. The constructs used are diagrammed below the column
chart. Average values for duplicate samples are shown as fold induction
above a no CAT enzyme control. The results for a representative
experiment are shown.
Preliminary results using LNCaP tumor xenografts in the nude mouse model support the retention of tissue specificity in vivo. When CN23 complexed with a lipid delivery vehicle (e.g. DOTMA/DOPE, 1:1) was introduced into LNCaP tumors as well as other mouse tissues either by direct injection or systemically, CAT activity was detected only in tumor samples (data not shown). These results also indicate that the PSA enhancer/promoter combination has retained tissue-specific properties to a large degree both in vitro and in vivo.
Figure 9: Summary of EMSA analysis of the PSA gene enhancer. EMSA analysis was performed as described under ``Materials and Methods'' and in Fig. 8. A restriction map spanning the enhancer region is diagrammed at the top; the portions of the enhancer covered by each probe are depicted by brackets below the map and are numbered sequentially from left to right. Bold brackets indicate probes which formed complexes with either LNCaP or MCF-7 extracts; probes which formed complexes only with LNCaP extracts are indicated by an asterisk; probes which did not form specific DNA-protein complexes are indicated by thin brackets.
Figure 8: Formation of LNCaP cell-specific DNA-protein complexes on the PSA gene enhancer. Extracts from LNCaP cells or MCF-7 cells were incubated with radiolabeled fragments of the PSA gene enhancer, then analyzed by nondenaturing gel electrophoresis as described under ``Materials and Methods.'' Lanes 1, probe alone; lanes 2, probe with LNCaP extract and mock competitor; lanes 3, LNCaP extract with probe and specific DNA competitor; lanes 4, MCF-7 extract with probe and mock competitor; lanes 5, MCF-7 extract with probe and specific competitor. Arrows indicate the DNA-protein complexes specific to LNCaP extracts. Regions covered: probe 5, -4980 to -4749; probe 7, -4710 to -4604; probe 8, -4636 to -4479; probe 13, -4168 to -4054; probe 14, -4076 to -3945; probe 15, -3968 to -3801.
The PCR-amplified segments which bound proteins only in LNCaP extracts span -4980 to -4797 (segment 5), -4710 to -4479 (segments 7 and 8), and -4168 to -3801 (segments 13 through 15). Autoradiographs of EMSA with these probes are shown in Fig. 8. In each example, multiple complexes are formed with the probes; often, the faster-migrating complexes are formed with both cell extracts and appear to be nonspecific. Complexes specific to LNCaP extracts are indicated by an arrows in each panel (LNCaP extract + mock competitor). The absence or reduction of these complexes in lanes 3 (LNCaP extract + specific competitor) demonstrated the specific nature of these complexes. Four specific complexes were formed with segment 8, while three specific complexes were formed with probe 13. Two each were formed with probes 5, 13, and 15. One complex each was formed with probes 7 and 14. The relatively large size of the probes and the slow migration of the complexes observed suggests a higher order arrangement of multiple proteins on the DNA segments.
The segments are numbered starting with the 5`-most region and range in size from 87 bp (segment 16) to 184 bp (segment 5). The ability of the DNA segments to form protein-DNA complexes was scored by two criteria: specific complex formation as judged by competition with unlabeled homologous PCR product and the formation of the complexes by one or both of the cell extracts. Each of the segments formed specific complexes (indicated by a bold bracket) except for segments 4 and 6. Of the segments which formed complexes, six (segments 5, 7, 8, 13, 14, and 15) formed specific complexes only with LNCaP extracts (indicated by *). Two findings are apparent from this analysis: 1) protein-DNA complexes are formed at various locations across the entire enhancer, and 2) complexes specific to LNCaP extracts are formed at several locations on the enhancer.
The studies described above have identified and characterized an enhancer located greater than 3700 bp upstream of the PSA gene and spanning approximately 1500 bp of DNA sequence. Previous studies of PSA transcriptional regulation had localized elements within 631 bp of the cap site which could alter transcription of reporter genes in an androgen-responsive manner(13) . However, this activity was observed in non-prostate cells by co-transfection with cloned androgen receptor; the 631-bp 5`-flanking region of the PSA locus was inactive in LNCaP cells, the only prostate cell line which synthesizes PSA. The enhancer described in this work stimulated high levels of reporter gene synthesis in LNCaP cells via this same promoter fragment. Therefore, it is likely that this element forms a major part of the transcriptional regulatory apparatus of the PSA gene.
The upstream enhancer of the PSA gene possesses the classic set of properties used to define enhancer elements(34, 35) . The enhancer resides on a DNA segment distinct from the promoter and requires a promoter in order to stimulate transcription initiation. The enhancer can be moved as a unit relative to the promoter and coding sequences and its orientation reversed, both without substantially affecting activity. Typically, enhancers also are promiscuous with respect to the promoter they activate. Likewise, the PSA enhancer can stimulate high levels of transcription via its native promoter or a heterologous promoter.
In addition to their ability to stimulate transcription, enhancer elements often add specific qualities to the overall process of transcription initiation. While promoters are often quite active in multiple cell types, enhancers may either amplify or restrict their activity, depending on the cell type. Thus, the tissue-specific activity of this upstream element further cements its classification as an enhancer.
The PSA gene belongs to the class of androgen-responsive genes. In vivo, PSA expression correlates with and is induced by androgens(2) . Treatment of LNCaP cells with dihydroxytestosterone or R1881 results in increased PSA mRNA synthesis and protein production(11) . Co-transfection of CV-1 cells with a reporter containing the 5` 631 bp of the PSA gene and an AR expression plasmid resulted in androgen-responsive transcription(13) . A substantial contribution of the upstream enhancer to androgen responsiveness of the PSA gene was revealed by linking the enhancer to a non-androgen-responsive viral promoter from SV40. The response to androgens may occur via one or more of several matches to the ARE consensus (30, 31) within the enhancer as has been demonstrated for other androgen-responsive genes such as mouse vas deferens protein and C3 (1) that contain functional AREs in their enhancers(14, 15) .
The potential ARE between -4148 and -4134 conforms to the previously determined ARE (GGTACAnnnTGTT/CCT(31) ) at 13 of 15 positions. Insertion of two bases adjacent to the left half-site match diminished activity, while changing the first two bases of the left half-site match to AT from GA markedly increased activity of the enhancer even though the match to the consensus GRE is even lower. A similar effect on AR-mediated transcription was observed by Ham et al.. (16) In their study, single base changes in the left half-site of an ARE from the C3(1) gene resulted in both increases and decreases in activity. These data suggest this putative ARE may be functional although further study is required to determine if AR interacts with this site.
The potential ARE half-site at -4079
also resides within the 140-bp region at the 3` end of the enhancer
which was shown to be required for activity. Footprinting studies have
revealed that this site is protected when the enhancer is bound by
proteins from LNCaP extracts. ()These results indicate a
possible functional role for this element.
Additional elements within the enhancer above and beyond the AREs must contribute to PSA expression restricted to the prostate. While genes are regulated by androgens in a variety of tissues, PSA expression is restricted to prostate. The results of this study (see Fig. 7) show that sequences within the 541 bp of the PSA gene will stimulate transcription at low levels in response to androgen; however, this segment is also active in other cell types such as HBL100 (breast carcinoma) and PANC-1 (pancreatic carcinoma). Inclusion of the enhancer with this promoter segment restricts its activity to PSA secreting LNCaP cells in vitro (Fig. 7) and to LNCaP tumor xenografts in nude mice in vivo (data not shown). This tissue-specific expression is probably mediated by prostate-specific DNA-protein complexes which require other regions of the enhancer in addition to ARE sequences.
Current hypotheses on how tissue-specific regulation is achieved invoke the following: 1) the combinatorial interaction of multiple transcription factors which are more widely distributed and/or 2) the interaction of key tissue-restricted transcription factors with the enhancer(32) . In either case, one would expect to observe the interaction of transcription factors with the enhancer to produce a DNA-protein complex specific to LNCaP cells. This is in fact what was observed by EMSA ( Fig. 8and Fig. 9). While protein-DNA complexes common to both LNCaP cells and MCF-7 cells (breast cancer) were detected across most of the enhancer, LNCaP-specific complexes were detected in three distinct regions. The 3`-most of these segments encompasses the putative AREs between -4150 and -4000, suggesting DNA-protein complexes containing AR.
If the function of the PSA enhancer is to code for assembly of a multiprotein complex exclusively in prostate epithelial cells, then an important goal is to understand the three-dimensional structure of such a complex. As a key component guiding tissue-specific expression of genes, understanding the behavior of such complexes would provide important insights into the loss of differentiated gene expression in tumor cells during progression. In addition, a clear understanding of the molecular mechanisms of tissue-specific expression will facilitate usage of such DNA elements in applications such as gene therapy and development of novel pharmaceutical agents.
The nucleotide sequence(s) reported in this paper has been submitted to the GenBank(TM)/EMBL Data Bank with accession number(s) U37672[GenBank].