Different regulatory sequences control creatine kinase-M gene expression in directly injected skeletal and cardiac muscle.

Regulatory sequences of the M isozyme of the creatine kinase (MCK) gene have been extensively mapped in skeletal muscle, but little is known about the sequences that control cardiac-specific expression. The promoter and enhancer sequences required for MCK gene expression were assayed by the direct injection of plasmid DNA constructs into adult rat cardiac and skeletal muscle. A 700-nucleotide fragment containing the enhancer and promoter of the rabbit MCK gene activated the expression of a downstream reporter gene in both muscle tissues. Deletion of the enhancer significantly decreased expression in skeletal muscle but had no detectable effect on expression in cardiac muscle. Further deletions revealed a CArG sequence motif at position -179 within the promoter that was essential for cardiac-specific expression. The CArG element of the MCK promoter bound to the recombinant serum response factor and YY1, transcription factors which control expression from structurally similar elements in the skeletal actin and c-fos promoters. MCK-CArG-binding activities that were similar or identical to serum response factor and YY1 were also detected in extracts from adult cardiac muscle. These data suggest that the MCK gene is controlled by different regulatory programs in adult cardiac and skeletal muscle.