Identification of Diazepam-binding Inhibitor/Acyl-CoA-binding Protein as a Sterol Regulatory Element-binding Protein-responsive Gene

Diazepam-binding inhibitor/acyl-CoA-binding protein (DBI/ACBP), a highly conserved 10-kDa polypeptide, has been implicated in various physiological processes including gamma-aminobutyric acid type A receptor binding, acyl-CoA binding and transport, steroidogenesis, and peptide hormone release. Both in LNCaP prostate cancer cells and 3T3-L1 preadipocytes, the expression of DBI/ACBP is stimulated under conditions that promote lipogenesis (treatment with androgens and insulin, respectively) and that involve the activation of sterol regulatory element-binding proteins (SREBPs). Accordingly, we investigated whether DBI/ACBP expression is under the direct control of SREBPs. Analysis of the human and rat DBI/ACBP promoter revealed the presence of a conserved sterol regulatory element (SRE)-like sequence. Gel shift analysis confirmed that this sequence is able to bind SREBPs. In support of the functionality of SREBP binding, coexpression of SREBP-1a with a DBI/ACBP promoter-reporter gene resulted in a 50-fold increase in transcriptional activity in LNCaP cells. Disruption of the SRE decreased basal expression and abolished SREBP-1a-induced transcriptional activation. In agreement with the requirement of a co-regulator for SREBP function, transcriptional activation by SREBP-1a overexpression was severely diminished when a neighboring NF-Y site was mutated. Cholesterol depletion or androgen treatment, conditions that activate SREBP function in LNCaP cells, led to an increase in DBI/ACBP mRNA expression and SRE-dependent transcriptional activation. These findings indicate that the promoter for DBI/ACBP contains a functional SRE that allows DBI/ACBP to be coregulated with other genes involved in lipid metabolism.