TRANSCRIPTIONAL REPRESSION OF HETEROLOGOUS CONSTITUTIVE AND INDUCIBLEPROMOTERS BY THE NEGATIVE ELEMENT OF THE RABBIT ANGIOTENSIN-CONVERTING ENZYME GENE

We previously identified a transcriptional negative element (NE) prese nt in the rabbit angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene. Here, we re port that the NE can also repress transcription driven by the strong c onstitutive promoters of the human beta-actin gene and SV40 in both AC E-expressing and nonexpressing cell lines. The extent of repression wa s influenced by the relative positions of the NE and the SV40 promoter and enhancer. The NE could also repress transcription driven by inter leukin-1 and interferon-alpha-inducible promoters. Finally, transcript ion from a TATA-less promoter was equally repressed by the NE. Taken t ogether, these results suggest that the NE of the rabbit ACE gene can function as a universal transcriptional silencer element.