Cell-specific expression of the macrophage scavenger receptor gene is dependent on PU.1 and a composite AP-1/ets motif.

The type I and II scavenger receptors (SRs) are highly restricted to cells of monocyte origin and become maximally expressed during the process of monocyte-to-macrophage differentiation. In this report, we present evidence that SR genomic sequences from -245 to +46 bp relative to the major transcriptional start site were sufficient to confer preferential expression of a reporter gene to cells of monocyte and macrophage origin. This profile of expression resulted from the combinatorial actions of multiple positive and negative regulatory elements. Positive transcriptional control was primarily determined by two elements, located 181 and 46 bp upstream of the major transcriptional start site. Transcriptional control via the -181 element was mediated by PU.1/Spi-1, a macrophage and B-cell-specific transcription factor that is a member of the ets domain gene family. Intriguingly, the -181 element represented a relatively low-affinity binding site for Spi-B, a closely related member of the ets domain family that has been shown to bind with relatively high affinity to other PU.1/Spi-1 binding sites. These observations support the idea that PU.1/Spi-1 and Spi-B regulate overlapping but nonidentical sets of genes. The -46 element represented a composite binding site for a distinct set of ets domain proteins that were preferentially expressed in monocyte and macrophage cell lines and that formed ternary complexes with members of the AP-1 gene family. In concert, these observations suggest a model for how interactions between cell-specific and more generally expressed transcription factors function to dictate the appropriate temporal and cell-specific patterns of SR expression during the process of macrophage differentiation.