Structure and expression of the human angiotensinogen gene. Identification of a unique and highly active promoter

We have isolated the human angiotensinogen gene from a genomic library and determined the exon-intron junction sequences. The gene is 12 kilobases long and consists of five exons interrupted by four introns, as a single copy in the human genome. Of particular interest are the positions of the introns in the human angiotensinogen gene which are identical to those in the highly homologous human alpha 1-antitrypsin and alpha 1-antichymotrypsin genes, as well as rat and mouse angiotensinogen genes. Northern blot analysis showed that human hepatoma cells (HepG2) produce a large amount of angiotensinogen mRNA but not human glioma cells (T98G). To assay the promoter activity, the 1.3-kilobase genomic fragment containing the 5'-flanking region, first exon, and a part of first intron at positions -1222 to +44 was fused upstream to the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene, then transfected into HepG2 and T98G cells. The gene sequence was active only in HepG2 cells, suggesting the presence of a functional promoter. Analysis of deletion mutants demonstrated that the 76-base pairs region from -32 to +44 containing the TATA box and first exon is the minimal promoter, whose activity is as high as that of the SV40 enhancer-promoter. Since the basal expression of the human angiotensinogen gene is much higher in HepG2 than T98G cells, these results may reflect cell-specific differences in the gene transcription.