Hepatic transcriptional up-regulator of the rat microsomal epoxide hydrolase gene

Rat microsomal epoxide hydrolase (mEH) is one of the detoxification enzymes and selectively expressed in liver. A 350-bp DNA fragment of the proximal promoter was found to contain information sufficient to express the mEH gene in hepatoma cells, however not in nonhepatoma cells. We identified two cis-acting elements, epoxide hydrolase proximal element 1 (EHP1) and 2 (EHP2), in this promoter region by using transient transfection assays. Each element is a new cell-type-specific transcriptional up-regulator. The cell-type-specific activity of EHP1 correlates to the limited cell distribution of its cognate transacting factor(s). In the case of EHP2, a similar or possibly the same cognate factor(s) binding to EHP2 was detected by DNase I footprinting and gel retardation assays in both hepatoma and nonhepatoma cells. However, EHP2 functions as an up-regulator only in hepatoma cells. Our finding adds repertoire to a battery of cis-regulatory elements that are required for liver-specific transcription.