SYNERGISTIC INDUCTION OF TISSUE-TYPE PLASMINOGEN-ACTIVATOR GENE-EXPRESSION BY GLUCOCORTICOIDS AND CYCLIC-NUCLEOTIDES IN RAT HTC HEPATOMA-CELLS

We have reported previously that tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) gene expression is regulated by glucocorticoids and cyclic nucleotides in HTC rat hepatoma cells. Incubation of HTC cells with the synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone (Dex) transiently increases tPA messenger RNA accumulation 2-fold, whereas incubation with 8-bromo-cAMP (cAMP) alone results in a sustained P-fold increase. Nuclear run-on studies indicate that these effects occur at the level of gene transcription. In combination, however, Dex and cAMP act synergistically to induce tPA messenger RNA levels 10- to 15-fold; this synergistic induction is at least in part transcriptional. We now report that this synergistic induction of tPA gene transcription requires concomitant protein synthesis. Furthermore, the action of Dex must precede that of cAMP, and the action of Dex requires ongoing protein synthesis, whereas the action of cAMP has no such requirement. To further investigate the mechanism of the synergistic induction of tPA gene transcription, we cloned the tPA promoter from an HTC genomic library. We established the start site of transcription in HTC cells by primer extension and determined the nucleotide sequence of 2.3 kilobasepairs (kb) of the 5'-flanking region, including 1.7 kb of sequence not previously reported. A 2.3-kb segment of the rat tPA promoter has been ligated to a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter gene and its hormonal regulation evaluated in transient and stable transfection studies in HTC cells. Although this promoter length is sufficient to mediate the P-fold induction in gene expression seen with cAMP alone, it is not sufficient to recapitulate the synergistic induction of endogenous tPA gene transcription seen with Dex plus cAMP in combination. We have ruled out relief of transcriptional arrest as the mechanism of the synergistic induction. Therefore, we suggest that sequences lying outside the most proximal 2.3 kb of tPA promoter mediate the synergistic interaction of Dex and cAMP.