The hepatitis B virus core promoter is strongly activated by the liver nuclear receptor fetoprotein transcription factor or by ectopically expressed steroidogenic factor 1

Orphan nuclear receptor fetoprotein transcription factor (FTF) was previously identified as a specific regulator of the a,alpha(1)-fetoprotein gene during early liver development and in response to hormonal signals (L. Galarneau, J.-F. Pare, D.Allard, D. Hamel, L. Levesque, J. D. Tugwood, S. Green, and L. Belanger, Mol. Cell. Biol. 16:3853-3865, 1996), Here we report a functional analysis of FTF interactions with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) nucleocapsid promoter. DNA-protein-binding assays shaw that the REV core promoter contains two high-affinity FTF-binding sites and a third, lower-affinity site shared with other receptors. Transfections in HepG2, Hep3B, and PLC/PRF/5 hepatoma cells using chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter genes,with the nucleocapsid promoter linked or not linked to enhancer I indicate that FTF is a potent activator of the HBV core promoter, more efficient than HNF4 alpha, HNF3 alpha, HNF3 beta, or C/EBP alpha. Steroidogenic factor 1, a close FTF homolog which binds to the same DNA motif and is expressed ectopically in HepG2 cells, seems to be an even stronger inducer than FTF. Point mutations of the FTF-binding sites indicate direct FTF activatory effects on the core promoter and the use of both high-affinity sites for productive interaction between the core promoter and enhancer I. Coexpression assays further indicate that FTF and HNF4 alpha are the most efficient partners for coactivation of the pregenomic core promoter, which mag. largely account for the hepatic tropism and the early amplification of HBV infection. Carboxy terminus-truncated FTF behaves as a dominant negative mutant to compete all three FTF sites and strongly deactivate core promoter interactions with enhancer I; this suggests possible new ways to interfere with HBV infection.