Transcriptional Regulation ofFucosyltransferase 1Gene Expression in Colon Cancer Cells

Abstract

Theα1,2-fucosyltransferase I (FUT1) enzyme is important for the biosynthesis of H antigens, Lewis B, and Lewis Y. In this study, we clarified the transcriptional regulation of FUT1 in the DLD-1 colon cancer cell line, which has high expression of Lewis B and Lewis Y antigens, expresses theFUT1gene, and showsα1,2-fucosyltransferase (FUT) activity. 5′-rapid amplification of cDNA ends revealed a FUT1 transcriptional start site −10 nucleotides upstream of the site registered at NM_000148 in the DataBase of Human Transcription Start Sites (DBTSS). Using the dual luciferase assay,FUT1gene expression was shown to be regulated at the region −91 to −81 nt to the transcriptional start site, which contains the Elk-1 binding site. Site-directed mutagenesis of this region revealed the Elk-1 binding site to be essential for FUT1 transcription. Furthermore, transfection of the dominant negative Elk-1 gene, and the chromatin immunoprecipitation (CHIp) assay, supported Elk-1-dependent transcriptional regulation ofFUT1gene expression in DLD-1 cells. These results suggest that a defined region in the 5′-flanking region of FUT1 is critical for FUT1 transcription and that constitutive gene expression ofFUT1is regulated by Elk-1 in DLD-1 cells.