ABSTRACT:Human N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2) genetic polymorphism is associated with drug toxicity and/or carcinogenesis in various tissues. Knowledge of NAT2 gene structure and expression is critical for understanding these associations. Previous findings suggest that human NAT2 expression is highest in liver and gut but expressed at functional levels in other tissues. A sensitive and specific TaqMan reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay with intron-spanning primers was developed and used, together with a second TaqMan RT-PCR assay based on amplification of a NAT2 open reading frame (ORF) exon segment, to measure NAT2 mRNA in 29 different human tissues. Cap-dependent amplification of mRNA 5 termini and review of public database information were done to more precisely define the NAT2 promoter(s) and to validate the quantitative RT-PCR assay design. The great majority (40/41) of NAT2 liver cDNAs had 5 termini between 8682 and 8752 nucleotides upstream of the NAT2 ORF exon, and 34 of 40 5 termini were at the ؊8711 and ؊8716 adenines. All 59 NAT2 cDNAs with 5 termini in this vicinity, including 40 of the liver isolates and 19 cDNAs in public databases from liver and other sources, showed direct splicing to the ORF exon, with no other noncoding exon detected. NAT2 mRNA was highest in liver, small intestine, and colon and was readily detected in most other tissues, albeit at much lower levels. NAT2 expression in diverse human tissues provides further mechanistic support underlying associations between NAT2 genetic polymorphism, drug toxicity, and/or chemical carcinogenesis.Genetic polymorphism of the N-acetyltransferase 2 gene (NAT2) is strongly implicated in differential susceptibility to adverse drug reactions (Weber and Hein, 1985;Butcher et al., 2002) and to various diseases (Boukouvala and Fakis, 2005), especially cancers of the urinary bladder (Garcia-Closas et al., 2005;Carreon et al., 2006;Hein, 2006) and colon (Lilla et al., 2006;Moslehi et al., 2006), on exposure to carbocyclic and heterocyclic-aromatic amine carcinogens. A large number of studies have also examined the possible involvement of NAT2 in the etiology of cancers of various other organs (reviewed in Hein et al., 2000a,b). A critical question is whether vulnerability to neoplastic transformation is related to specific expression of NAT2 in the target organ (Williams, 2001), and studies have investigated NAT2 expression in various human (reviewed in Boukouvala and Fakis, 2005) and recently in Syrian hamster and mouse (Loehle et al., 2006) tissues. We hypothesized that human NAT2 expression is highest in liver and gut but is also present in other human tissues. To test this hypothesis, sensitive, specific, and well characterized quantitative mRNA assays were used to quantitate relative expression of NAT2 in 29 different human tissue types.Accurate quantitative measurements of NAT2 mRNA and protein pose a particular technical challenge because of the presence of the paralogous gene, N-acetyltransferase 1 (NAT1), which is ubi...

Some carcinogens that initiate rat mammary cancer are substrates of human N-acetyltransferase 1 (NAT1) and variation in NAT1 activity due to environmental or genetic causes may influence human susceptibility to breast cancer. One unexplored potential cause of NAT1 expression variation is polymorphism of transcriptional control sequences. However, the location of the major NAT1 transcription control site is uncertain because earlier publications and current databases report different cDNA structures. To resolve this discrepancy, we used CAP-dependent cDNA cloning to identify 5' ends of NAT1 mRNAs from breast and MCF-7, a mammary adenocarcinoma cell line. Most transcription initiates in a 49-bp region located 11.8 kb upstream of the coding exon. A 79-bp exon located 2.5 kb upstream of the coding exon was found in all 41 of the independent NAT1 cDNA products. Seven of these 41 cDNAs also included other non-coding exons. The structures of NAT1 cDNAs in public databases, as obtained from diverse tissues, reflect a transcription pattern similar to that demonstrated in breast and MCF-7. Genomic fragments spanning the major start region were cloned into a luciferase vector and expressed in MCF-7. Promoter activities were 190-490-fold higher than the vector control and 30-80-fold higher than for a fragment immediately upstream of the coding exon. Our results demonstrate that, in breast, and likely also in other tissues, the major NAT1 mRNA is transcribed from a strong promoter located 11.8 kb upstream of the translated exon, and the mature spliced mRNA includes at least one additional non-coding exon.

Variable expression of human arylamine N-acetyltransferase 1 (NAT1) due to genetic polymorphism, gene regulation or environmental influences is associated with individual susceptibility to various cancers. Recent studies of NAT1 transcription showed that most mRNAs originate at a promoter, P1, located 11.8 kb upstream of the single open reading frame (ORF) exon. We have now characterized an alternative NAT1 promoter lying 51.5 kb upstream of the NAT1 ORF. In the present study, analysis of human RNAs representing 27 tissue types by RT-PCR and quantitative RT-PCR showed the upstream 51.5 kb promoter, designated P3, to be most active in specific tissues, including kidney, liver, lung, and trachea. All NAT1 P3 mRNAs included 5'-untranslated region (5'-UTR) internal exons of 61 and 175 nucleotides in addition to the 79 nucleotide 5'-UTR exon present in P1 mRNA. CAP-dependent amplification of 5' P3 mRNA termini defined an 84 bp transcription start region in which most start sites are centrally clustered. The hepatomaderived HepG2 cell line expressed a high level of P3 mRNA with the same spliced structure and start site pattern as found in normal tissues. A 435 bp minimal promoter was defined by transfection of HepG2 with luciferase expression constructs containing genomic fragments from the P3 start region. These findings imply a fundamental role for P3 in NAT1 regulation and define additional regions for genetic polymorphisms associated with enhanced cancer risk.