Glutamate-cysteine ligase (GCL), the rate-limiting enzyme in glutathione synthesis, is made up of two subunits, a catalytic (heavy) subunit (GCLC) and a modifier (light) subunit (GCLM), which are differentially regulated. Increased hepatic GCLC expression occurs during rapid growth, oxidative stress and after ethanol treatment. To facilitate studies of GCLC transcriptional regulation, we have cloned and characterized a 1.8 kb 5'-flanking region of the rat GCLC (GenBank accession number AF218362). A consensus TATA box and one transcriptional start site are located at 302 and 197 nucleotides upstream of the translational start site, respectively. The promoter contains consensus binding sites for many transcription factors including nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) and activator protein 1 (AP-1). The rat GCLC promoter was able to efficiently drive luciferase expression in H4IIE cells. Sequential deletion analysis revealed that three DNA regions, -595 to -111, -1108 to -705 and -705 to -595, are involved in positive (the first two regions) and negative (the latter region) gene regulation. Specific protein binding to these regions was confirmed by DNase I footprinting and electrophoretic mobility-shift assays (EMSAs). Ethanol-fed livers exhibit increased protein binding to region -416 to -336 on DNase I footprinting analysis, which was found to be NF-kappaB and AP-1 on EMSA and supershift analysis. Acetaldehyde treatment of H4IIE cells led to a time- and dose-dependent increase in GCLC mRNA levels, binding of NF-kappaB and AP-1 to the GCLC promoter, and luciferase activity driven by the GCLC promoter fragment containing these binding sites.