A cis-acting element in the major immediate-early (IE) promoter of human cytomegalovirus is required for negative regulation by IE2.

The major immediate-early promoter (MIEP) of human cytomegalovirus (CMV) contains a number of different enhancer elements in both repetitive and nonrepetitive sequences that influence the level of downstream transcription. This report describes a cis-acting element in the MIEP that responds to negative regulation by the IE2 gene product. Deletion analysis demonstrated that the cis-acting repressor element is located between the TATA box and the transcription initiation site from -13 to -1. The DNA sequence of the repressor element is 5'-CGTTTAGTGAACC-3'. The sequence is found in both the human and simian CMV MIEPs but not the murine CMV MIEP or in several other enhancer-containing promoters. The repressor element was isolated in a DNA fragment from -13 to +3 and was found to be functional in either orientation. It could be transferred to a heterologous enhancer-containing promoter and was functional when placed between the TATA box and the transcription initiation site. The element did not function when placed downstream of the transcription initiation site. Therefore, the cis-acting repressor element is position dependent. The role of the repressor element and the IE2 gene product in human CMV productive or latent infection is discussed.