Identification and interplay of sequence specific DNA binding proteins involved in regulation of human Pregnane and Xenobiotic Receptor gene

• Cis-regulatory elements present in proximal promoter of PXR are identified.
• A composite element (CE) region is involved in PXR gene regulation.
• Trans-acting factors binding to CE are identified as Sp1 and hnRNPK.
• Mutually exclusive interactions between hnRNPK and other CEBFs at CE are observed.

Pregnane and Xenobiotic Receptor (PXR), a member of nuclear receptor superfamily, acts as a ‘xenosensor’ in our body and modulates a network of genes involved in xenobiotic metabolism and elimination. Expression levels of PXR in certain metabolic disorders including cancer are reported to be altered and its induced expression is associated with the development of resistance towards chemotherapy and adverse drug–drug interactions. Though the transcriptional regulation of PXR target genes have been elucidated in significant details, the structure and functional control of PXR promoter itself remains inadequately explored. In this work, we identify a Composite Element (CE) located within the proximal PXR promoter region that consists of multiple overlapping cis-elements and demonstrated that CE interacts specifically with some critical nuclear proteins. Subsequent DNA-protein interaction studies revealed mutually exclusive interactions on CE occurring between Sp1 and two unidentified DNA binding proteins with molecular masses of 50 and 54 kDa. Here, we report the identification of 54 kDa CE binding protein as a heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein K (hnRNPK) and demonstrate the effect of hnRNP K and Sp1 on PXR promoter transcriptional activity. Overall, the study indicates that PXR gene is tightly regulated to maintain a low receptor level.