Constitutive function of the basic helix-loop-helix/PAS factor Arnt. Regulation of target promoters via the E box motif.

Arnt is a nuclear basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor that, contiguous with the bHLH motif, contains a region of homology (PAS) with the Drosophila factors Per and Sim. Arnt dimerizes in a ligand-dependent manner with the bHLH dioxin receptor, a process that enables the dioxin-(2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin)-activated Arnt-dioxin receptor complex to recognize dioxin response elements of target promoters. In the absence of dioxin, Arnt does not bind to this target sequence motif. The constitutive function of Arnt is presently not understood. Here we demonstrate that Arnt constitutively bound the E box motif CACGTG that is also recognized by a number of distinct bHLH factors, including USF and Max. Importantly, amino acids that have been identified to be critical for E box recognition by Max and USF are conserved in Arnt. Consistent with these observations, full-length Arnt, but not an Arnt deletion mutant lacking its potent C-terminal transactivation domain, constitutively activated CACGTG E box-driven reporter genes in vivo. These results indicate a role of Arnt in regulation of a network of target genes that is distinct from that regulated by the Arnt-dioxin receptor complex in dioxin-stimulated cells.