We have demonstrated that gene expression from the promoter of the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) MS gene with its upstream sequence is inducible by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). By transfecting mammalian cells with plasmids in which the MS promoter and its upstream sequence are linked to the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene, we have shown that treatment of the cells with TPA stimulates the expression of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase activity in both EBV-negative and -positive cell lines. This TPA response requires the cis-acting sequence between nucleotides 84440 and 85046 of the EBV genome, located either upstream or downstream of the MS promoter. The TPA induction is at the transcriptional level. When this sequence is linked to the promoter of the human herpesvirus 1 thymidine kinase gene, it can also enhance the expression of, and confer TPA responsiveness on, the thymidine kinase promoter. By constructing and transfecting mutants with 5' and 3' deletions, we have identified two TPA-responsive elements, one located between -726 and -690 and the other located between -603 and -546 relative to the transcription start site. These two sequences do not contain any homology to the previously defined elements for TPA response and may play an important role in EBV induction by TPA.