Activation of the c-fos promoter by increased internal pH

Changes in intracellular pH (pHin) take part in the mitogenic response. Their importance has been stressed by the finding that mouse fibroblasts expressing a yeast proton pumping ATPase (PMA1) exhibit a transformed phenotype and are tumorigenic. These cells do maintain a higher pHin, supporting the idea that elevated pHin may act as a proliferative trigger. Here we show that cells constitutively expressing PMA1 have higher levels of the AP-1 transcription factor. The use of stable transfectants and transient transfection assays show that PMA1 activity induces transactivation of the c-fos promoter. The activation of the promoter is mediated throughout the serum response element (SRE). The use of protein kinase C inhibitors suggests that AP-1 activation is achieved through a pathway independent of protein kinase C.