CHARACTERIZATION OF THE PROMOTER OF HUMAN PULMONARY SURFACTANT PROTEIN-B GENE

Pulmonary surfactant protein B (SP-B) is required for normal surfactant function and for survival at birth. To further study SP-B gene expression, we sequenced genomic clones and examined promoter activity of SP-B DNA fragments by transient transfection. A plasmid construct containing human SP-B fragment -1039/+431 linked to chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) reporter gene was readily expressed in H441 cells, which are derived from a human lung adenocarcinoma, but was < 4% as active in Hep G2, HeLa, and Calu 6 cell lines. SP-B promoter activity in H441 cells was orientation dependent and increased by linked Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) enhancer and was stronger than for thymidine kinase (tk) and RSV promoters. Deletional mapping of the 5' flanking region with exonuclease III suggested nonspecific negative (-811/-1039)- and positive (-453/-641)-control regions and a cell-specific enhancer region at -208 to -54. When a fragment from -403 to -35 base pairs (bp) was placed upstream or downstream of tkCAT, in either orientation, expression in H441 cells but not other cell lines was increased 4- to 28-fold relative to tkCAT. Deletional analysis of the 3' terminus indicated a requirement for at least 7 bp 3' of the transcription start site. Promoter activity was strongly inhibited in a dose-dependent fashion by phorbol ester, with responsiveness mapped to bp -208/-54, but was not responsive to glucocorticoid. We conclude that the human SP-B gene promoter contains transcriptional control elements both 5' and 3' of the transcription start site and both a cell-specific enhancer(s) and phorbol ester-responsive site(s) in the first 200 bp of the 5' flanking sequence.