Regulation of calreticulin gene expression by calcium

We have isolated and characterized a 12-kb mouse genomic DNA fragment containing the entire calreticulin gene and 2.14 kb of the promoter region. The mouse calreticulin gene consists of nine exons and eight introns, and it spans 4.2 kb of genomic DNA. A 1.8-kb fragment of the calreticulin promoter was subcloned into a reporter gene plasmid containing chloramphenicol acetyltransferase. This construct was then used in transient and stable transfection of NIH/3T3 cells. Treatment of transfected cells either with the Ca²⁺ ionophore A23187, or with the ER Ca²⁺-ATPase inhibitor thapsigargin, resulted in a five- to sevenfold increase of the expression of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase protein. Transactivation of the calreticulin promoter was also increased by fourfold in NIH/3T3 cells treated with bradykinin, a hormone that induces Ca²⁺ release from the intracellular Ca²⁺ stores. Analysis of the promoter deletion constructs revealed that A23187- and thapsigargin-responsive regions are confined to two regions (- 115 to -260 and -685 to -1,763) in the calreticulin promoter that contain the CCAAT nucleotide sequences. Northern blot analysis of cells treated with A23187, or with thapsigargin, revealed a fivefold increase in calreticulin mRNA levels. Thapsigargin also induced a fourfold increase in calreticulun protein levels. Importantly, we show by nuclear run-on transcription analysis that calreticulin gene transcription is increased in NIH/3T3 cells treated with A23187 and thapsigargin in vivo. This increase in gene expression required over 4 h of continuous incubation with the drugs and was also sensitive to treatment with cycloheximide, suggesting that it is dependent on protein synthesis. Changes in the concentration of extracellular and cytoplasmic Ca²⁺ did not affect the increased expression of the calreticulin gene. These studies suggest that stress response to the depletion of intracellular Ca²⁺ stores induces expression of the calreticulin gene in vitro and in vivo.