A regulatory locus, Hdc-e, determines the response of mouse kidney histidine decarboxylase to estrogen.

Levels of histidine decarboxylase (HDC; EC 4.1.1.22) activity in female mouse kidney are modulated by estrogen (administered as implanted pellets). In some inbred strains HDC activity is induced by estrogen, while in others the enzyme is repressed. Immunoprecipitation with an anti-fetal rat HDC antiserum has shown that induction and repression of HDC levels are due to changes in enzyme concentration. Segregation analysis has identified a single additively inherited regulatory locus, Hdc-e, which determines the response to estrogen. The allele Hdc-eb (C57BL/10) determines induction, and the allele Hdc-ed (DBA/2) determines repression. Preliminary evidence indicates cosegregation of Hdc-e alleles with alleles of another regulatory locus, Hdc-c (determining kidney HDC concentration), and therefore putative linkage of Hdc-e with the HDC gene complex on chromosome 2. This is the first report of a mammalian regulatory gene controlling two opposite mechanisms, induction and repression in response to a single effector.