REGULATED EXPRESSION OF THE HUMAN ACETYLATED LOW-DENSITY-LIPOPROTEIN RECEPTOR GENE AND ISOLATION OF PROMOTER SEQUENCES

The acetylated low density lipoprotein (AcLDL) receptor is expressed on tissue macrophages after their differentiation from monocyte precursors and has been proposed to play a role in the generation of foam cells in atherosclerotic lesions. In the present studies, THP-1 human monocytic leukemia cells were used to investigate mechanisms responsible for expression of the AcLDL receptor gene after treatment with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (TPA). TPA-dependent accumulation of AcLDL receptor mRNA was not detected until after a lag phase of 12 hr and was blocked by concurrent treatment with cycloheximide. In addition, the TPA-dependent induction of AcLDL receptor activity and mRNA levels was inhibited by retinoic acid and dexamethasone treatment. Isolation and sequence analysis of the promoter regions for the human and bovine AcLDL receptor genes indicated high sequence similarity. Binding sites for AP-1 proteins or other known transcription factors were not conserved between the two species, suggesting that novel factors are required for AcLDL receptor expression.