Aquaporin-2 (AQP-2) water channel is a key molecule for urinary concentration whose expression is augmented by dehydration in vivo. To elucidate the regulatory mechanism of this phenomenon in vitro, mouse collecting duct cell lines were established from a transgenic mouse harboring temperature-sensitive simian virus 40 large T antigen gene and then screened for the AQP-2 expression, using ribonuclease protection assay. In one cell line designated C4, the endogenous AQP-2 mRNA level measured by ribonuclease protection assay increased fourfold after treatment with chlorophenylthio-cAMP (cpt-cAMP) (400 microM). In contrast, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate did not affect the AQP-2 mRNA level. To identify the molecular mechanism(s) of cAMP-induced upregulation of AQP-2 mRNA in C4 cells, luciferase assay was performed using various 5'-flanking regions of the human AQP-2 gene. Luciferase activity in C4 cells transfected with constructs containing approximately 2.8-kbp or 224-bp 5'-flanking region showed a 3.5-fold increase by cpt-cAMP treatment, indicating that the 224-bp 5'-flanking region contains the elements necessary for cAMP-induced regulatory mechanisms. This region contains cAMP-responsive element (CRE), and the deletion of the core sequence of CRE (GACGTCA) or introduction of mutation into CRE (GTGGTCA) completely abolished the responsiveness to cpt-cAMP, confirming the key role of CRE in the cAMP-induced transcriptional activation of the AQP-2 gene. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay revealed the existence of proteins binding to CRE in C4 cells and in rat kidney. The binding of CRE proteins to CRE was increased in the nuclear extract from cpt-cAMP-treated C4 cells and dehydrated rat kidney compared with those from controls. These results demonstrated that the CRE in the AQP-2 gene promoter is a key cis-element for cAMP-mediated transcriptional regulation of this gene and may be important for in vivo regulation of AQP-2 expression in a dehydrated state.