The function of conserved elements in the promoter of the mouse angiotensinogen gene

The angiotensinogen gene encodes the precursor protein for the potent vasoconstrictor angiotensin II. Although the gene is expressed in several tissues, the liver is the major source of circulating protein. In previous in-vivo studies we have found that a mini-gene containing 750 bp of 5'-flanking sequence is transcribed in a manner which largely parallels the expression of the endogenous gene. In this report, we characterized conserved elements in the promoter region, in order to determine their role in the transcription of the angiotensinogen gene. Constructs fused to the chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) reporter gene were transfected into hepatocarcinoma Hep G2 cells as well as into nonhepatic cell lines. We found that 5'-deletion mutant constructs, containing sequences from +25 to -90 bp and -321 to -750 bp, were each able to activate transcription. These constructs contain the TATA box and core promoter sequences, including an Sp1-binding site, and two glucocorticoid responsive elements respectively. In the non-hepatic cell lines, HeLa and Jeg-3, we found that the constructs were transcribed at a much lower rate when compared with the expression of a plasmid containing the Rous sarcoma virus long terminal repeat fused to the CAT gene. Constructs which included sequence 5' to -244 were oestrogen inducible. An element which is conserved between rodent and human angiotensinogen promoters is contained within a sequence which is oestrogen responsive, while another binds the liver-enriched transcriptional activator hepatocyte nuclear factor 1. However, the role of this transactivator in the transcription of angiotensinogen remains uncertain.