Cloning and characterization of the rat TIS11 gene

The TIS11 gene is an immediate early gene that is induced rapidly and transiently by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate and various growth factors. To study transcriptional regulation of the gene, a genomic clone of rat TIS11 was isolated, and the organization of exon-intron structure and transcriptional initiation site were determined. The rat TIS11 gene consisted of 2 exons spanning approximately 2.5 kb. Several canonical sequences for binding of transcriptional factors were found in the 5′-flanking region. The 5.3 kb of the 5′-flanking region fused to a luciferase reporter gene showed promoter activity when introduced into rat pheochromocytoma PC12 cells. Analyses with serial 5′-deletion mutants suggested that the major positive regulatory region is located at the region of -241 to -76, and that the minimum promoter region is within the 76-bp upstream of the transcriptional initiation site. Gel mobility shift assays revealed that PC12 cell nuclear proteins specifically bind to the major positive regulatory region of the TIS11 gene. The identified nuclear protein components may act as the positive trans-acting factors in the basal expression of the TIS11 gene in PC12 cells.