We have compared regulation of the serglycin gene in human erythroleukemia (HEL) and CHRF 288-11 cells, which have megakaryocytic characteristics, with promyelocytic HL-60 cells. Deletion constructs were prepared from the region ؊1123/؉42 to ؊20/؉42, and putative regulatory sites were mutated. In all three cell lines, the two major regulatory elements for constitutive expression were the (؊80)ets site and the cyclic AMP response element (CRE) half-site at ؊70. A protein from HEL and CHRF, but not HL60, nuclear extracts bound to the (-80)ets site. Another protein from all three cell lines bound to the (-70)CRE. Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and dibutyryl cyclic AMP (dbcAMP) increased expression of the reporter in HEL cells 2.5-3-and 4.5-fold, respectively, from all constructs except those with (-70)CRE mutations. PMA virtually eliminated expression of serglycin mRNA and promoter constructs, but dbcAMP increased expression in HL-60 cells. The effects of PMA and dbcAMP on promoter expression correlated with mRNA expression. The strengths of two DNase Ihypersensitive sites in the 5-flanking region and the first intron in all three cells correlated with relative endogenous serglycin mRNA expression. An additional DNase I-hypersensitive site in HL60 DNA in the first intron may be related to the high serglycin expression in HL60 relative to HEL or CHRF cells.The serglycin proteoglycan is synthesized by a number of hematopoietic cells, including platelets (1) and their parent megakaryocytes (2), granulocytes, macrophages, and lymphocytes (3-6), mast cells (4), and a large number of hematopoietic tumor cell lines (3, 7-10). Mature erythrocytes do not contain proteoglycans. We have recently found that serglycin is a major component of endothelial (11), murine uterine mesometrial decidual (12), and murine embryonic stem cell proteoglycans.
1Serglycin is thought to be critical for packaging and storage of various proteins in and secretion from hematopoietic cell granules and for modulating their activity. Serglycin binds to and stabilizes the chymases in the protease-containing secretory granules in mast cells (4, 13) and binds to granule-associated cytokines or chemokines such as MIP-1␣ and platelet factor 4 (14). Serglycin can bind to a number of matrix proteins such as fibronectin and collagen (9,15,16) and thus can influence cell/matrix interactions (16). We have reported that the serglycin proteoglycan of platelets of Wistar-Furth rats, which have a severe defect in ␣ granule structure and protein content, has abnormally shortened glycyosaminoglycan chains (15). Mice with a gene deletion of an enzyme required for heparin biosynthesis have severe defects in mast cell granules because of the defect in the heparin serglycin glycyosaminoglycan chains (17,18). Serglycins from other hematopoietic cells, endothelial cells, and decidua contain primarily chondroitin sulfate (2,4,8,9,19). The overall structure of the intact proteoglycan, rather than just the nature of the glycyosaminoglycan chains, appears to govern the ...