Functional analyses of the human metallothionein-IG gene. In vitro and in vivo studies

We have analyzed the human (h) metallothionein (MT)-IG proximal promoter region (-174 to +5) using a TATA box mutation (TATCA) and four trinucleotide mutants of the proximal MREa. Transient transfection of HepG2 cells was complemented by in vitro transcription with rat liver nuclear extracts. In both systems, mutations of the TATA box and conserved core of metal responsive element (MRE)a were detrimental to hMT-IG promoter activity suggesting that both elements make significant contributions to hMT-IG transcription. Although MRE binding factors were active in vitro, further metal activation of MT promoter activity was accomplished only by in vivo metal treatment rather than addition of zinc in vitro. Southwestern blotting identified nuclear proteins in rat liver and HepG2 cells which physically interact with MREa in a zinc-dependent manner and could be responsible for MREa function in each system. In addition, the functional effects of the TATCA mutation correlate with altered physical interaction with TATA box-binding protein as observed using DNase I protection.