Regulation of involucrin gene expression by retinoic acid and glucocorticoids

Involucrin is a major component of the cornified envelope and a marker for terminal differentiation in keratinocytes. We examined hormone regulation of involucrin mRNA expression and transcriptional modulation of the involucrin gene in human keratinocyte cell lines. Dexamethasone enhanced, and retinoic acid decreased, endogenous involucrin mRNA expression in cells treated with these ligands. Functional interactions between each ligand were observed; all-trans or 9-cis retinoic acid reduced dexamethasone enhancement of involucrin expression. Transcriptional control of the involucrin promoter reflected the responses observed for the endogenous gene. All-trans or 9-cis retinoic acid inhibited involucrin expression, and both retinoids antagonized glucocorticoid-mediated induction of reporter gene activity equally well. In contrast, a control promoter was unaffected by hormone treatment, indicating that stabilization of reporter gene mRNA or protein did not account for the observed differences in activity. These results demonstrate that transcriptional control plays a role in regulation of the endogenous involucrin gene by glucocorticoids and retinoids and that DNA sequences within the isolated promoter region confer hormone responsiveness. Hormone-mediated responses mapped to a proximal promoter region that contained a functional AP1 site. Stimulation of AP1 activity by phorbol ester was suppressed by retinoic acid, and cotransfection with a c-jun expression vector reversed the retinoic acid response. Based on these data, we suggest that suppression of involucrin promoter activity by retinoic acid may be mediated through interaction with the AP1 transcriptional complex.