Basal expression of the histone H5 gene is controlled by positive and negative cis-acting sequences

Sequences from -3500 to +1365 of the chicken histone H5 gene have been analyzed for the presence of cis-acting elements in H5 expressing (transformed CFU-E) and non-expressing cells (fibroblasts). The region from -3500 to -115 had little effect on transcription. Proximal upstream sequences contain a negative element (UNE, -115 to -95), capable to also repress the activity of the heterologous HSV tk promoter, and two positive elements, a consensus GC-box (-83 to -74) and a proximal element (UPE, -54 to -38). The sequence of the UPE is highly related to the histone H4 subtype-specific element and it has been conserved in the duck H5 and the human and mouse H1(0) genes at equivalent positions. Although the effect of the UNE, GC-box and UPE was not tissue-specific, sequences from -38 to +77 appear to confer a degree of tissue specificity to the promoter. An activating erythroid-specific element (DE) was found downstream of the H5 gene (+1042 to +1185). The activity of the DE was modest but independent of position and orientation and required the presence of the promoter proximal elements. The DE harbors the sequence AGATAA that is recognized by a protein factor, presumably the same that binds to other erythrocyte-specific enhancers. The low activity of DE in the CFU-E may be related to the low concentration of the AGATAA-binding factor in the differentiation-blocked cells.