CEACAM1, a SOX9 direct transcriptional target identified in the colon epithelium

A deletion of the transcription factor SOX9 gene in the mice intestine affects the morphology of the colon epithelium and leads to hyperplasia. Nevertheless, direct transcriptional targets of SOX9 in this tissue are still unknown. A microarray analysis identified the tumor suppressor carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 1 (CEACAM1) as a possible SOX9 target gene and we demonstrate here that SOX9 upregulates CEACAM1 in human colonic cells. Moreover, CEACAM1 expression is reduced in colon of SOX9-deficient mouse, suggesting an important function for SOX9 in the transcriptional activation of the CEACAM1 gene. We further identified SOX9-binding sequences in the human and rat CEACAM1 promoters, and an electrophoretic mobility shift together with a chromatin immunoprecipitation provided an additional evidence of the SOX9 binding to the human promoter. In addition, we established that histone acyl-transferase p300 behaves as an SOX9 coactivator of the rat and human CEACAM1 promoters. These results highlight CEACAM1 as the first direct target of SOX9 identified in the colon epithelium.