The DNA sequence encompassing the transcription start site of a TATA-less promoter contains enough information to drive neuron-specific transcription.

The FE65 gene encodes a nuclear protein of unknown function that is expressed in several areas of the rat nervous system during development and in the adult animal, particularly in somatic and visceral ganglia. FE65 mRNA is abundant in neuronal cell lines, whereas it is barely detectable in non-neuronal cells. We identified the two transcription start sites of the FE65 gene and we isolated the rat genomic fragment containing one of these two transcriptional start sites. We demonstrate that this fragment contains a promoter able to direct an efficient transcription of a reporter gene in PC12 cells and in NTERA2 cells upon their differentiation with retinoic acid, whereas it functions poorly in non-neuronal cells, such as Rat2 fibroblasts and BRL hepatocytes. This promoter is composed of two regions. The first includes a cis-element whose removal greatly decreases the transcriptional efficiency in all cells examined and which forms similar complexes with proteins from PC12 and Rat2 cells. This cis-element binds Sp1 or another GC-binding factor. The second cis-element encompasses the transcription start site and is still able to direct transcription only in neuronal cells. The DNA-protein complexes formed by this cis-element in neuronal cells differ from those formed in non-neuronal cells. The analysis of point mutations in this region indicates that the proteins that bind to this cis-element interact with both overlapping and distinct nucleotide sequences.