The proximal cis-regulatory region of the RHD/RHCE promoter is 105 bp and contains a 55-bp core devoid of known binding motifs but necessary for transcription.

Background: The RhD and RhCE polypeptides are erythroid-specific members of the RH gene family. Little is known about the promoter cis-regulatory proximal region responsible for transcription.

Study Design And Methods: The 1246-bp 5'-flanking regions of the RHD and RHCE promoter were amplified and ligated to a luciferase reporter vector and erythroid-specific transcription was evaluated in K562, HEL, U937, and HeLa cell lines.

Estrogen facilitates both phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt and ERK1/2 mitogen-activated protein kinase membrane signaling required for long-term neuropeptide Y transcriptional regulation in clonal, immortalized neurons.

It is established that increases in neuropeptide Y (NPY) expression are associated with hyperphagia and obesity. These effects can be reversed by estrogen, a recognized anorexigen. We found that 17beta-estradiol (E(2)) regulates biphasic NPY gene expression in a clonal, immortalized hypothalamic cell line, N-38, through estrogen receptor (ER) action at the level of the NPY promoter.

Coordinate regulation of neuropeptide Y and agouti-related peptide gene expression by estrogen depends on the ratio of estrogen receptor (ER) alpha to ERbeta in clonal hypothalamic neurons.

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) and agouti-related peptide (AgRP) stimulate feeding, whereas NPY also facilitates the estrogen-mediated preovulatory GnRH surge. In addition to regulating reproductive function, estrogen also acts as an anorexigenic hormone, although it is not yet known which hypothalamic neurons are involved in this process. We hypothesize that estrogen may directly control hypothalamic NPY and/or AgRP synthesis to influence energy homeostasis.