Expression of the glycoprotein hormone alpha-subunit gene in the placenta requires a functional cyclic AMP response element, whereas a different cis-acting element mediates pituitary-specific expression.

The single-copy gene encoding the alpha subunit of glycoprotein hormones is expressed in the pituitaries of all mammals and in the placentas of only primates and horses. We have systematically analyzed the promoter-regulatory elements of the human and bovine alpha-subunit genes to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying their divergent patterns of tissue-specific expression. This analysis entailed the use of transient expression assays in a chorionic gonadotropin-secreting human choriocarcinoma cell line, protein-DNA binding assays, and expression of chimeric forms of human or bovine alpha subunit genes in transgenic mice. From the results, we conclude that placental expression of the human alpha-subunit gene requires a functional cyclic AMP response element (CRE) that is present as a tandem repeat in the promoter-regulatory region. In contrast, the promoter-regulatory region of the bovine alpha-subunit gene, as well as of the rat and mouse genes, was found to contain a single CRE homolog that differed from its human counterpart by a single nucleotide. This difference substantially reduced the binding affinity of the bovine CRE homolog for the nuclear protein that bound to the human alpha CRE and thereby rendered the bovine alpha-subunit promoter inactive in human choriocarcinoma cells. However, conversion of the bovine alpha CRE homolog to an authentic alpha CRE restored activity to the bovine alpha-subunit promoter in choriocarcinoma cells. Similarly, a human but not a bovine alpha transgene was expressed in placenta in transgenic mice. Thus, placenta-specific expression of the human alpha-subunit gene may be the consequence of the recent evolution of a functional CRE. Expression of the human alpha transgene in mouse placenta further suggests that evolution of placenta-specific trans-acting factors preceded the appearance of this element. Finally, in contrast to their divergent patterns of placental expression, both the human and bovine alpha-subunit transgenes were expressed in mouse pituitary, indicating differences in the composition of the enhancers required for pituitary- and placenta-specific expression.