The complete sequence of the host cell factor 1 (HCFC1) gene and its promoter: a role for YY1 transcription factor in the regulation of its expression.

We report here the complete sequence of the Host Cell Factor (HCFC1) gene, including two kilobases of the 5'-flanking region and 5.9 kb of the first intron. The upstream and 5'-untranslated regions contain several putative transcriptional factor binding sites and a 17-nt-long repeated element (SiSa element) present in six regularly spaced copies, of which five are perfectly identical, while the sixth has a transition substitution (CT for TC) at nucleotides 13 and 14. Four copies are contained in the flanking region, the fifth is at the beginning of the mRNA (position +9), and the sixth is at position 195 of the mRNA. This 17-bp element contains at its 5' side an octamer sequence known to bind the Yin/Yang 1 (YY1) transcription factor; another YY1 binding octamer is present at the end of the first intron. The promoter also contains several Sp1 binding sites, some of which are located very close to SiSa elements. We demonstrate that YY1 binds to the 5' half of the SiSa element, whose 3' region binds in gel shift experiments an additional, as yet unidentified nuclear factor. Therefore the YY1 binding site in HCFC1 overlaps the site of a second factor, as has been described in several YY1-site-containing promoters. This suggests that HCFC1 expression might be regulated by the reciprocal interaction of several transcription factors.