The mouse Na+-sulfate cotransporter gene Nas1 -: Cloning, tissue distribution, gene structure, chromosomal assignment, and transcriptional regulation by vitamin D

NaSi-1 is a Na+-sulfate cotransporter expressed on the apical membrane of the renal proximal tubule and plays an important role in sulfate reabsorption. To understand the molecular mechanisms that mediate the regulation of NaSi-1, we have isolated and characterized the mouse NaSi-1 cDNA (mNaSi-1), gene (Nas1), and promoter region and determined Nas1 chromosomal localization, The mNaSi-1 cDNA encodes a protein of 594 amino acids with 13 putative transmembrane segments, inducing high affinity Na+-dependent transport of sulfate in Xenopus oocytes. Three different mNaSi-1 transcripts derived from alternative polyadenylation and splicing were identified in kidney and intestine. The Nas1 gene is a single copy gene comprising 15 exons spread over 75 kilobase pairs that maps to mouse chromosome 6. Transcription initiation occurs from a single site, 29 base pairs downstream to a TATA box-like sequence. The promoter is AT-rich (61%), contains a number of well characterized cis-acting elements, and can drive basal transcriptional activity in opossum kidney cells but not in COS-1 or NIH3T3 cells. We demonstrated that 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D-3 stimulated the transcriptional activity of the Nas1 promoter in transiently transfected opossum kidney cells. This study represents the first characterization of the genomic organization of a Na+-sulfate cotransporter gene. It also provides the basis for a detailed analysis of Nas1 gene regulation and the tools required for assessing Nas1 role in sulfate homeostasis using targeted gene manipulation in mice.