Human CG is composed of two subunits, alpha and beta. In addition to its eutopic synthesis in normal and malignant trophoblasts, the hormone is produced ectopically by a variety of tumor cell lines of nonplacental origin. Regulation of the alpha CG gene in trophoblasts appears to differ from that in nontrophoblasts. To determine whether these differences are reflected in the chromatin structure at the alpha CG locus, DNase I-hypersensitive sites within this domain were mapped in human tumor cell lines that differentially express the gene. Two hypersensitive sites were detected in DNA from cell lines that produce the alpha-subunit. The latter includes trophoblastic (JAr and JEG-3 choriocarcinoma) and nontrophoblastic (HeLa cervical carcinoma and ChaGo bronchogenic carcinoma) tumor cell lines. The most prominent site (HS 1) was located approximately 100 base pairs upstream from the transcription start site. In trophoblasts, accessibility of HS 1 increased substantially upon induction of the gene by cAMP, likely reflecting alterations in DNA-protein interactions at the cAMP response element and/or tissue-specific enhancer. In nontrophoblasts, where alpha-subunit synthesis is enhanced by sodium butyrate but not by cAMP, neither butyrate nor cAMP altered the accessibility of HS 1. The HS 2 is comprised of multiple sites with weak to moderate DNase sensitivity located downstream at +1600 to +4000 in cell lines that produce alpha-subunit. Cell lines that do not express the alpha CG gene possess a distinct hypersensitive site (HS 3) within the first intron at about +600; these include 3A-Sub-E (SV40 transformed placenta), CBT (glioblastoma multiforme), and CaSki (cervical carcinoma). Cleavage by DNase at HS 1 and HS 2 is not evident in nuclei from cell lines that do not produce alpha-subunit. These results suggest that HS 1 and HS 3 are characteristic of active and inactive states of the alpha CG gene, respectively, and that the accessibility of HS 1 generally correlates with the level of expression.