Cloning and characterization of the human thyroid hormone receptor beta 1 gene promoter

The promoter region of the human (h) thyroid hormone receptor (TR) beta 1 gene was isolated from a human placenta genomic library. Primer extension and S1 nuclease mapping confirmed a single transcriptional start site. DNA sequence analysis of the 5' upstream region revealed the existence of a putative thyroid response element (TRE) which is highly homologous to TREs found in several thyroid hormone responsive genes. Binding of hTR protein to the promoter region of the hTR beta 1 gene was confirmed by gel mobility shift assay. A transient transfection study demonstrated that hTR activated the expression of a reporter gene containing the promoter sequence of the hTR beta 1 gene in a hormone dependent manner. The TRE in the hTR beta 1 gene promoter may be involved in the autoregulation of hTR beta 1 gene expression.