Ammonia produced by amino acid metabolism is detoxified through conversion into urea by the ornithine cycle in the liver, whereas carbon skeletons of amino acids are converted to glucose by gluconeogenic enzymes. Promoter and enhancer sequences of several genes for ornithine cycle enzymes interact with members of the CCAAT/ enhancer-binding protein (C/EBP) transcription factor family. Disruption of the C/EBP␣ gene in mice causes hypoglycemia associated with the impaired expression of gluconeogenic enzymes. Here we examined the expression of ornithine cycle enzyme genes in the livers of C/EBP␣-deficient mice. mRNA levels for the first, third, fourth, and fifth enzymes of five enzymes in the cycle were decreased in C/EBP␣-deficient mice. Protein levels for the first, second, fourth, and fifth enzymes were also decreased. In situ hybridization analysis revealed that the enzyme mRNAs were distributed normally in the periportal region but were disordered in C/EBP␣-deficient mice with relatively higher mRNA levels in the midlobular region. Blood ammonia concentrations in the mutant mice were severalfold higher than in wild-type mice. Thus, C/EBP␣ is crucial for ammonia detoxification by ornithine cycle enzymes and for coordination of gluconeogenesis and urea synthesis.Urea synthesis and gluconeogenesis, representative traits of the liver, are closely related to each other with regard to amino acid metabolism. Deamination of the ␣-amino group of amino acids produces ammonia, a toxic metabolite that is detoxified by conversion into urea via the ornithine cycle in the liver. On the other hand, carbon skeletons derived from deaminated amino acids are primarily converted into glucose by gluconeogenic enzymes. Besides this relationship, the ornithine cycle and the gluconeogenic pathway are correlated by sharing common steps in two enzymatic reactions (1). Reflecting these close relationships, genes for both pathways are regulated in a coordinate manner. Urea synthesis and gluconeogenesis are induced in the perinatal period and postnatally are up-or downregulated by dietary changes, generally in the same direction (reviewed in Refs. 2-5). These responses are mediated mainly by hormones. Glucagon and glucocorticoids stimulate, whereas insulin represses, the expression of genes for both pathways (2-5).Studies of transcriptional regulation of genes for five enzymes of the ornithine cycle revealed the architecture of regulatory regions such as the promoter and enhancer (reviewed in Ref.3). In the promoter region of the first enzyme, carbamylphosphate synthetase (CPS) 1 (6), the enhancer region of the second enzyme, ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) (7-9), and the promoter and enhancer regions of the last enzyme, arginase (10 -13), there are binding sites for members of the CCAAT/ enhancer-binding protein (C/EBP) family (14, 15). C/EBP␣ (16) is the original member of this family and is the prototype of basic leucine zipper transcription factors (17). C/EBP␣ is most enriched in the liver and adipose tissues (18) and has been implic...