The rat calbindin D-9k gene is transcriptionally regulated by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 in the intestine. We have examined the 5'-flanking region of this gene and identified a 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3-responsive element (DRE) between nucleotides -489 and -445. This element confers 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 responsiveness through its native promoter and the heterologous thymidine kinase promoter, and it contains the sequence GGGTGTCGGAAGCCC, which is homologous to the other previously identified DREs. Incubation of this element with the 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 receptor produced a specific protein-DNA complex, which shifted to a higher molecular weight form upon the addition of a monoclonal antibody specific to the 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 receptor. Therefore, the 5'-flanking region of the rat calbindin D-9k gene contains a DRE that mediates the enhanced expression of this gene by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 in the intestine.The calbindin D-9k calcium-binding protein is a member of a large family of intracellular calcium-binding proteins that act to control the transport, availability, and storage of calcium (1, 2). This protein has been detected in various tissues, including the intestine (3-5), placenta (6), uterus (7,8), yolk sac (9, 10), and fallopian tube of the rat (11). It has also been detected in small quantities in the kidney (12) and the growth cartilage (13). The primary sequences of the mouse (14), rat (15, 16), bovine (17), and porcine (18) proteins have been determined. The rat calbindin D-9k cDNA has been isolated and characterized (19). The rat gene for calbindin D-9k has also been isolated and sequenced (20,21). It is a relatively small gene, spanning about three kilobases (kb) of genomic DNA, and consists of three exons flanked by two introns (20,21).In the intestine, vitamin D appears to be the primary regulator for the calbindin D-9k gene at the transcriptional level (22-25). However, no regulation by vitamin D is exerted on the gene in the uterus, where it seems to be primarily under estrogen regulation (7,26). An active estrogen-responsive element (ERE) has been detected in the first intron of the gene at the border with the first exon (27), which is presumed to mediate the responsiveness of the gene to estrogen in the uterus. However, no vitamin D-responsive element has yet been identified in or around the calbindin D-9k gene. A number of vitamin D-responsive elements (DREs) have been identified and characterized in the 5'-flanking region of various other vitamin D-dependent genes, including the rat osteocalcin gene (28), the human osteocalcin gene (29,30), and the mouse osteopontin gene (31). All of these DREs were shown to bind the vitamin D receptor and are able to mediate vitamin D-dependent transcriptional activation.Since the isolation ofthis gene, we have tried to localize and identify a potential DRE with limited success. We describe here the identification and characterization of an active DRE in the 5' upstream region of the calbindin D-9k gene.t This element, which is homolog...