We identified two thyroid hormone response elements (TREs) in the 2.5-kb, 5-flanking region of the human gene encoding type 1 iodothyronine deiodinase (hdio1), an enzyme which catalyses the activation of thyroxine to 3,5,3-triiodothyronine (T3). Both TREs contribute equally to T3 induction of the homologous promoter in transient expression assays. The proximal TRE (TRE1), which is located at bp ؊100, has an unusual structure, a direct repeat of the octamer YYRGGTCA hexamer that is spaced by 10 bp. The pyrimidines in the ؊2 position relative to the core hexamer are both essential to function. In vitro binding studies of TRE1 showed no heterodimer formation with retinoid X receptor (RXR)  or JEG nuclear extracts (containing RXR␣) and bacterially expressed chicken T3 receptor ␣1 (TR␣) can occupy both half-sites although the 3 half-site is dominant. T3 causes dissociation of TR␣ from the 5 half-site but increases binding to the 3 half-site. Binding of a second TR to TRE1 is minimally cooperative; however, no cooperativity was noted for a functional mutant in which the half-sites are separated by 15 bp, implying that TRs bind as independent monomers. Nonetheless, T3 still causes TR dissociation from the DR؉15, indicating that dissociation occurs independently of TR-TR contact and that rebinding of a T3-TR complex to the 3 half-site occurs because of its slightly higher affinity. A distal TRE (TRE2) is found at bp ؊700 and is a direct repeat of a PuGGTCA hexamer spaced by 4 bp. It has typical TR homodimer and TR-RXR heterodimer binding properties. The TRE1 of hdio1 is the first example of a naturally occurring TRE consisting of two relatively independent octamer sequences which do not require the RXR family of proteins for function.Type 1 iodothyronine deiodinase (D1), the product of the dio1 gene, catalyzes both the first step in thyroid hormone activation, which is outer ring deiodination of thyroxine (T4) to form 3,5,3Ј-triiodothyronine (T3), and the inactivation of T4 or T3 by removal of an inner-ring iodine from the iodothyronine nucleus (48). In the rat, T3 produced by D1 activity provides ϳ60 to 70% of the circulating hormone (35,52). D1 is one of a very small group of selenoenzymes in which selenocysteine, which is encoded by UGA, is present in the active center (8, 9). Thyroid hormone markedly increases dio1 mRNA in liver and kidney in vivo and in rat FRTL-5 and pituitary tumor cells as well as in hepatocytes in primary culture (6,7,42,47,51,67). This increase is a consequence of a direct interaction of T3 with the thyroid hormone receptor and does not require new protein synthesis as does the T3-induced increase in rat growth hormone (rGH) or spot 14 mRNA (59, 63).Triiodothyronine induction of gene expression requires the interaction of ligand with the T3 receptor (TR), which is bound to specific sequences of DNA termed thyroid hormone response elements (TREs) and usually found in the 5Ј-flanking region of T3-responsive genes. A common TRE conformation consists of two core hexamers, termed half-sites, beari...