CCAAT enhancer-binding protein α suppresses the rat placental glutathione S-transferase gene in normal liver

The rat placental glutathione S-transferase (GST-P), an isozyme of glutathione S-transferase, is not expressed in normal liver but is highly induced at an early stage of chemical hepatocarcinogenesis and in hepatomas. Recently, we reported that the NF-E2 p45-related factor 2 (Nrf2)/MafK heterodimer binds to GST-P enhancer 1 (GPE1), a strong enhancer of the GST-P gene, and activates this gene in preneoplastic lesions and hepatomas. In addition to the positive regulation during hepatocarcinogenesis, negative regulatory mechanisms might work to repress GST-P in normal liver, but this remains to be clarified. In this work, we identify the CCAAT enhancer-binding protein alpha(C/EBP alpha) as a negative regulator that binds to GPE1 and suppresses GST-P expression in normal liver. C/EBP alpha binds to part of the GPE1 sequence, and the binding of Nrf2/MafK and C/EBP alpha to GPE1 is mutually exclusive. In a transient-transfection analysis, C/EBP alpha activated GPE1 in F9 embryonal carcinoma cells but strongly inhibited GPE1 activity in hepatoma cells. The expression of C/EBP alpha was specifically suppressed in GST-P-positive preneoplastic foci in the livers of carcinogen-treated rats. A chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis showed that C/EBP alpha bound to GPE1 in the normal liver in vivo but did not bind in preneoplastic hepatocytes. Introduction of the C/EBP alpha gene fused with the estrogen receptor ligand-binding domain into hepatoma cells, and subsequent activation by beta-estradiol led to the suppression of endogenous GST-P expression. These results indicate that C/EBP alpha is a negative regulator of GST-P gene expression in normal liver.