A cis-acting element is necessary and sufficient for translational regulation of human ferritin expression in response to iron.

Abstract Ferritin plays a key role in determining the intracellular fate of iron and is highly regulated by the iron status of the cell. We have identified a cis-acting element in the transcribed but nontranslated 5' leader sequence of human ferritin heavy-chain mRNA. In transiently transfected murine fibroblasts, the presence of a 157-nucleotide region of the 5' leader sequence was found to be necessary for iron-dependent regulation of ferritin biosynthesis. Further, this 5' leader region is sufficient to transfer iron-mediated translational control to the expression of a heterologous gene product, chloramphenicol acetyltransferase.