In uremia, muscle wasting involves increased glucocorticoid production and activation of the ubiquitin-proteasome proteolytic pathway, including increased expression of ubiquitin. Previously, we reported that glucocorticoids stimulate ubiquitin transcription by a mechanism involving Sp1 in L6 muscle cells (Marinovic AC, Zheng B, Mitch WE, Price SR. J Biol Chem 277: 16673-16681, 2002). This finding was surprising because Sp1 is a general transcriptional activator. To better understand the mechanism of glucocorticoid-induced ubiquitin (UbC) gene transcription, we examined whether this response occurs in many organs or uniquely in skeletal muscle. Glucocorticoid-responsive cells of different organs were transfected with a human UbC promoter-luciferase reporter plasmid; dexamethasone stimulated UbC reporter activity 220% (P < 0.05) in L6 skeletal muscle cells but not in HepG2 hepatocytes, NRK kidney cells, CaCo-2 colon cells, or H9c2 cardiomyocytes. Transactivation of the Sp1-responsive SV40 viral promoter was also increased in muscle but not in other nonmuscle cells. The muscle-specific nature of the UbC response was confirmed in vivo in rats with insulin deficiency, a condition associated with high glucocorticoid production: UbC mRNA was elevated in skeletal muscle but not in liver, kidney, intestine, or heart. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays and in vivo genomic footprinting demonstrated that insulin deficiency increased Sp1 binding to GC-rich elements in the UbC promoter. Thus glucocorticoids increase UbC transcription by a mechanism involving Sp1 that is unique to muscle.