Retinoic acid up-regulates nuclear retinoic acid receptor-alpha expression in human neuroblastoma cells

Retinoic acid (RA) nuclear receptors (RARs) are thought to mediate the cellular and molecular effects of RA on a wide variety of tissues. In most cell types, RAR alpha expression remains relatively constant following exposure to RA, while that of RAR beta is rapidly induced. In this study, we show that in human neuroblastoma, a cell type exceptionally sensitive to RA-induced differentiation, RAR alpha as well as RAR beta is markedly up-regulated by RA treatment. This effect was consistent in all 5 neuroblastoma cell lines tested and was reflected in a 2- to 5-fold increase in receptor mRNA levels as assessed by Northern-blot analysis. Using LA-N-5 human neuroblastoma cells, we found that receptor up-regulation occurred in a time- and dose-dependent fashion with increases in both RAR alpha and beta mRNA detectable 1-2 hr after the addition of RA. These inductions were not abrogated by cycloheximide, indicating that protein synthesis was not required for the RA responses. Nuclear run-off experiments combined with Northern-blot analysis of RAR alpha stability directly demonstrated that the up-regulation of RAR alpha mRNA levels reflected an increased rate of transcription without changes in message half-life. These findings, showing direct activation by RA of RAR alpha gene transcription in human neuroblastoma cells, suggest differences in the overall regulation of this receptor from that found in most other RA-inducible tissue.