Transcriptional activation of the glucose-regulated protein genes and their heterologous fusion genes by beta-mercaptoethanol.

The sulfhydryl-reducing agent beta-mercaptoethanol preferentially stimulates the synthesis of glucose-regulated proteins (GRPs) in mammalian cells. The rapid and large increase in GRPs is due to transcriptional activation of GRP94 and GRP78 genes, resulting in a rapid increase in the steady-state levels of GRP transcripts. From analysis of 5'-deletion mutants, the region of beta-mercaptoethanol responsiveness in the GRP78 promoter was mapped within 450 nucleotides upstream of the TATA sequence. This same general region was demonstrated to be important for induction of the GRP78 gene by the calcium ionophore A23187, glucose starvation, and a temperature-sensitive mutation in a K12 cell line defective in protein glycosylation.