Zinc finger transcription factors mediate high constitutive platelet-derived growth factor-B expression in smooth muscle cells derived from aortae of newborn rats

Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) B-chain gene is differentially expressed in smooth muscle cells (SMCs) derived from the rat aortic wall. SMCs cultured from two week-old rats (pups) express high levels of PDGF-B mRNA, whereas cells isolated from three month-old rats (adults) express low levels of PDGF-B. Nuclear run-off experiments indicate that increased PDGF-B gene expression in pups is mediated, at least in part, at the transcriptional level. We used electrophoretic mobility shift assays and Western blot analysis to demonstrate that levels of Sp1 and Sp3, two zinc finger transcription factors which mediate basal expression of the PDGF-B gene, are elevated in pup nuclei compared with adult nuclei. The immediate-early transcription factor, Egr-1, which footprints the PDGF-B promoter, is also constitutively expressed in these cells. Transient transfection and binding studies show that these factors interact with a region in the proximal PDGF-B promoter key for basal expression in pup cells. Mutation of this proximal element in transfected pup cells attenuates reporter gene expression to levels observed in adult cells. Conversely, overexpression of Sp1 in adult cells augments PDGF-B expression in cultured newborn rat SMCs may therefore require high constitutive expression of a number of zinc finger transcription factors and their specific interactions with the proximal PDGF-B promoter.