A complex androgen-responsive enhancer resides 2 kilobases upstream of the mouse Slp gene

Neighboring genes encoding the mouse sex-limited protein (Slp) and fourth component of complement (C4) show extensive homology. In contrast to C4, however, Slp is regulated by androgen. One region of the Slp gene capable of hormonal response following transfection was located about 2 kilobases upstream of the transcription start site, where the C4 and Slp sequences diverge. This region, delimited here to a 0.75-kilobase fragment, showed cryptic promoter activity as well as androgen responsiveness in either orientation in front of the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase coding region. When this fragment was placed upstream of a viral long terminal repeat, increased chloramphenicol acetyltransferase expression derived from the viral promoter. Proteins from nuclear extracts specifically bound to four sequences within the region, near sites that are DNase I hypersensitive in vivo and reflect the hormonal and developmental regulation of Slp. Like several other cellular enhancers, this androgen-responsive element seems to be modular in nature and complex in its function.