Abstract

The expression of HLA-G in extravillous cytotrophoblast cells coincides with a general lack of classical major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I expression in this tissue. This differential expression of HLA-G and classical HLA class I molecules in trophoblasts suggests a tight transcriptional control of MHC class I genes. Transactivation of the classical MHC class I genes is mediated by two groups of juxtaposed cis-acting elements that can be viewed as regulatory modules. Both modules are divergent in HLA-G, rendering this gene unresponsive to NF-kappaB, IRF1, and class II transactivator (CIITA)-mediated induction pathways. In this study, we searched for alternative regulatory elements in the 1438-bp HLA-G promoter region. HLA-G was not responsive to interferon-alpha (IFNalpha), IFNbeta, or IFNgamma, despite the presence of an upstream ISRE binding IRF1 in vitro. However, the HLA-G promoter contains three CRE/TRE elements with binding affinity for CREB/ATF and Fos/Jun proteins both in vitro and in vivo. In transient transfection assays, it was shown that HLA-G transactivation is regulated by CREB, CREB-binding protein (CBP), and p300. Moreover, immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated that HLA-G is co-expressed with CREB and CBP in extravillous cytotrophoblasts, revealing the in vivo relevance of this transactivation pathway. This implies a unique regulation of HLA-G transcription among the MHC class I genes.