Stimulation of 92-kDa Gelatinase B Promoter Activity by ras Is Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase Kinase 1-independent and Requires Multiple Transcription Factor Binding Sites Including Closely Spaced PEA3/ets and AP-1 Sequences

The 92-kDa type IV collagenase (92-kDa gelatinase B also referred to as MMP-9), which plays a critical role in extracellular matrix degradation, is regulated by growth factors that mediate their effects through the ras proto-oncogene. The current study was undertaken to determine the transcriptional requirements for the induction of 92-kDa gelatinase B expression by an activated ras oncogene. Transfection of OVCAR-3 cells with an expression vector encoding an activated Ha- ras increased 92-kDa gelatinolytic activity and stimulated (over 10-fold) the activity of a CAT reporter driven by 670 nucleotides of 5‘ flanking sequence of the 92-kDa gelatinase B gene. Transient assays using a CAT reporter driven by 5‘ deleted fragments of the 92-kDa gelatinase B promoter indicated that a region spanning −634 to −531 was required for optimal induction of the promoter. The individual deletion, or mutation, of a PEA3/ ets (−540) motif, AP-1 sites(−533, −79), a NF-κB(−600) consensus sequence, and a GT box(−52) substantially reduced the activation of the promoter by ras . An expression vector encoding the PEA3 transcription factor caused a 3-fold stimulation of the wild type but not the PEA3/ ets -deleted 92-kDa gelatinase B promoter. Co-expression of a dominant negative c- jun antagonized the ras -dependent stimulation of the 92-kDa gelatinase B promoter-driven CAT reporter. The signaling pathway mediating the induction of 92-kDa gelatinase B promoter activity by ras was examined. The expression of a phosphatase (CL100) which inactivates multiple mitogen-activated protein kinase members abrogated the stimulation of 92-kDa gelatinase B promoter activity by ras . However, the expression of a kinase-deficient mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 1 (MEK1) did not prevent the activation of the 92-kDa gelatinase B promoter by ras and a constitutively activated c- raf expression vector was insufficient for 92-kDa gelatinase B promoter activation. Thus, the stimulation of the 92-kDa gelatinase B promoter by ras requires multiple elements including closely spaced PEA3/ ets and AP-1 sites and is MEK1-independent.