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M Beato

Publications and source records attributed to M Beato.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

Binding of steroid receptors to the HREs of mouse mammary tumor virus, chicken and xenopus vitellogenin and rabbit uteroglobin genes: correlation with induction.

Binding to hormone responsive elements (HRE) is an essential step in gene regulation by steroid hormones. Using a combination of in vivo and in vitro studies we have analyzed the interactions of the estrogen receptor with genes from three different systems: the long terminal repeat (LTR) of the mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV), the chicken and xenopus vitellogenin genes and the rabbit uteroglobin gene. The estrogen receptor binds to all four genes in vitro, but the MMTV LTR does not respond to estrogen in gene transfer experiments. Similarly, the xenopus vitellogenin gene binds the progesterone and glucocorticoid receptors in vitro, but only estrogen induces the xenopus vitellogenin gene in gene transfer. These results suggest that events distal to DNA binding are essential for transcriptional activation, and that the function of the HRE is not simply to position the hormone receptor in the vicinity of the regulated promoter.

Animals↗

DNA regulatory elements for steroid hormones.

Gene regulation by steroid hormones is mediated through an interaction of the hormone receptors with DNA regulatory sequences called hormone regulatory or responsive elements (HRE). An analysis of the HRE's in the DNA of mouse mammary tumour provirus, human metallothionein IIA gene, chicken lysozyme gene, chicken and Xenopus vitellogenin genes, growth hormones genes, Moloney murine sarcoma provirus, rabbit uteroglobin gene, rat tyrosine aminotransferase gene, rat tryptophan oxygenase gene and rat acidic glycoprotein gene, yields the following consensus for positively modulated glucocorticoid responsive elements (GRE): 5'-GGTACAnnnTGTTCT-3'. This element can also mediate induction by progesterone and probably by androgens, but not by estrogens. Detailed analysis of the DNA protection pattern suggests that a dimer of the hormone receptor interacts with this palindromic 15-mer. In genes that are negatively regulated by glucocorticoids an imperfect copy of the GRE is found, and repression is probably due to competition between hormone receptor and other transcription factors or enhancer binding proteins for binding to overlapping DNA sequences. The receptors without bound hormone are able to interact specifically with DNA in vitro, but binding of hormone is needed for transcriptional activation in vivo. This could be due, at least in part, to changes in the rate parameters of the receptor-DNA interaction induced by binding of the hormone to the receptor. The possible role of precise chromatin organization in glucocorticoid induction is discussed on the basis of the nucleosome phasing found in the LTR region of mouse mammary tumour virus.

Animals↗

Binding of hormone accelerates the kinetics of glucocorticoid and progesterone receptor binding to DNA.

Steroid hormone receptors induce genes by virtue of their interaction with DNA regulatory sequences. The hormonal response of a particular gene in vivo correlates with binding of the hormone to the receptor and supposedly reflects the degree of occupancy of the corresponding DNA regulatory sequences. However, in vitro the steroid-free glucocorticoid and progesterone receptors bind specifically to the regulatory sequences of mouse mammary tumor virus, thus raising questions on the role of the hormone in DNA binding in vivo. By using monoclonal antibodies, gel retardation assays, and filter binding techniques we show here that binding of a functional steroid to either the glucocorticoid or the progesterone receptors influences the kinetics of the protein-DNA interaction in vitro. In the presence of hormone the on rate of receptor binding to DNA fragments with or without regulatory sequences is accelerated 2- to 5-fold, and the off rate is accelerated 10- to 20-fold. The receptors complexed to an antihormone bind to DNA with kinetics intermediate between those of the steroid-free and the hormone-bound protein. Thus, ligand binding accelerates the kinetics of receptor binding to DNA and this could partly account for the behavior of the hormone receptor observed in vivo.

Adrenalectomy↗

Recombinant rabbit uteroglobin expressed at high levels in E. coli forms stable dimers and binds progesterone.

In order to express uteroglobin in Escherichia coli we have constructed a DNA coding for complete mature rabbit uteroglobin by fusing genomic sequences from the second exon of the gene to an incomplete cDNA. This DNA was inserted into various positions of the polylinker cloning region of pDS expression vectors and the uteroglobin gene was expressed in E. coli by IPTG induction. Four different uteroglobin-derived proteins were produced containing 1, 3, 5 and 7 more N-terminal amino acids than the naturally occurring mature protein. The yield of soluble protein strongly increased with increasing length of the N-terminal additions. Protein and RNA analysis showed that this variation is most likely due to progressively higher translation efficiencies of the larger recombinants. UG7, the most efficiently synthesized recombinant protein, carrying seven additional N-terminal amino acids, was purified and further characterized. Like natural uteroglobin, UG7 forms a dimer and binds progesterone with an affinity indistinguishable to the natural protein. This bacterially produced protein can be used for detailed structure-function investigations of uteroglobin.

Animals↗

Protein-DNA interactions at steroid hormone regulated genes.

This work summarizes binding data that were obtained with partially purified glucocorticoid and progesterone receptors, as well as with a crude nuclear protein extract, to DNA sequences in and around hormonally regulated genes. The sequence recognition by the glucocorticoid receptor at the different defined glucocorticoid regulatory elements (GRE) is discussed and a consensus sequence formulated. A three dimensional representation gives an impression of the mode of interaction between the protein and the double helix of DNA. In the promoters of mouse mammary tomour virus (MTV) and chicken lysozyme overlapping binding sites for both, glucocorticoid and progestine-receptors are found that are responsible for the hormonal inducibility of the genes. In crude extract from rat liver nuclei, a nonhistone protein is found that specifically binds to sequences on the MTV-LTR region overlapping the GRE. The possible implication of this protein in hormonal regulation of transcription is discussed.

Animals↗

A model for hormone receptor binding to the mouse mammary tumour virus regulatory element based on hydroxyl radical footprinting.

The mouse mammary tumour virus long terminal repeat region contains regulatory sequences able to mediate transcriptional induction by different steroid hormones. Two clusters of binding sites for the glucocorticoid and the progesterone receptors have been identified in the region between -70 and -190, the so called hormone responsive or regulatory element. To understand the molecular details of the interaction between the receptors and the DNA we have used the high resolution technique of hydroxyl radical footprinting. Both in the promoter distal site and in the promoter proximal cluster additional contacts between the proteins and the double helix are detected by this technique, outside of the region identified by methylation protection. The pattern of contacts in the promoter distal region is compatible with a model involving the interaction of a receptor dimer with the major grooves of four subsequent turns of the double helix, each turn being contacted by a separate zinc finger. This model is illustrated by computer graphical methods and discussed in terms of sequence homologies with other hormone regulatory elements.

Animals↗

Negative regulation by glucocorticoids through interference with a cAMP responsive enhancer.

Although steroid hormone receptors are known to activate gene expression by binding to specific hormone-dependent enhancers, the mechanisms by which steroids inhibit the transcription of specific genes are unknown. It is shown here by gene transfer studies that the same glucocorticoid receptor that activates gene expression can negatively regulate expression of the human glycoprotein hormone alpha-subunit gene. Glucocorticoid inhibition was conferred by a 52-nucleotide region that also contains elements crucial both for adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) responsiveness and for placental-specific expression of this gene and was observed only under conditions in which these elements were functioning as enhancers. Purified glucocorticoid receptor was found to bind to DNA that overlap the cAMP responsive elements sites in this region. It is hypothesized that steroid receptors negatively regulate gene expression by interfering with the activity or binding of other important transcription factors.

Cell Line↗

Differential gene activation by glucocorticoids and progestins through the hormone regulatory element of mouse mammary tumor virus.

The hormone regulatory element (HRE) of mouse mammary tumor virus can mediate activation of an adjacent promoter by glucocorticoids and progestins. A detailed comparison of the DNA binding of receptors for both hormones using DNAase I footprinting and methylation protection detects clear differences in their interactions with the HRE region between positions -130 and -100. Binding studies and gene transfer experiments with a variety of mutants covering the entire HRE demonstrate differences in the relevance of the individual sequence motifs for induction by each hormone. The influence of changes in the angular orientation of receptor binding sites is also different for glucocorticoid and progesterone induction. In transfection experiments with mutated HREs, we find a functional cooperation between the receptor binding sites that does not correlate with variations in the in vitro affinity of the receptors for the corresponding DNA fragment.

Animals↗

Sequences downstream of the glucocorticoid regulatory element mediate cycloheximide inhibition of steroid induced expression from the rat alpha 1-acid glycoprotein promoter: evidence for a labile transcription factor.

The glucocorticoid induction of alpha 1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) RNA in rat hepatoma cells is diminished by inhibiting protein synthesis. We now show that the AGP 5'-flanking region contains a DNA sequence (position -121 to -107), exhibiting a high degree of homology to the glucocorticoid regulatory element (GRE) consensus sequence ACAXXXTGTTCT, which serves to specifically bind purified rat glucocorticoid receptor in vitro. A 15 base pair oligonucleotide representing the AGP GRE confers glucocorticoid responsiveness on a heterologous promoter; such regulation is not diminished by concurrent inhibition of protein synthesis. However, inclusion of the AGP sequences immediately downstream of the AGP GRE (position -106 to -42) renders the hormonal induction sensitive to inhibition of protein synthesis. Furthermore, inclusion of these downstream sequences results in a more pronounced induction mediated by the AGP GRE. In vitro DNase-1 treatment using nuclear extracts prepared from HTC hepatoma cells generate footprints that indicate the presence of DNA-protein interactions spanning the region from -110 to -68 of the AGP gene. We propose that one or more labile factors acting within this domain, immediately downstream of the GRE, is required for efficient transcription at the AGP promoter.

Animals↗

Progesterone induction of metallothionein-IIA gene expression.

Expression of the metallothionein gene is known to be induced by glucocorticoids in a variety of cells. Here we show that in human cell lines containing functional progesterone receptors, the endogenous metallothionein-IIA (hMTIIA) gene is inducible by the synthetic progestins R5020 and medroxy-progesterone acetate. That this effect reflects a direct interaction with the metallothionein gene is supported by our finding that the partially purified progesterone receptor binds to the promoter region of the gene in vitro. The limits of the DNase I footprint and the guanine residues protected in methylation studies with the progesterone receptor are similar to those previously described for the glucocorticoid receptor. Thus, the hormone regulatory element of the human metallothionein-IIA gene can mediate regulation by both glucocorticoids and progestins, as does the hormone regulatory element of mouse mammary tumor virus.

Animals↗

Partial overlapping of binding sequences for steroid hormone receptors and DNaseI hypersensitive sites in the rabbit uteroglobin gene region.

Four DNaseI hypersensitive (HS) chromatin regions were found in the uteroglobin locus located at -3.7, -2.4, -0.1 and +4.1 kb with respect to the transcription start site of the gene. The three sites upstream of the gene are only detected in the hormonally stimulated endometrium and disappear after hormone withdrawal, whereas the site at +4.1 is also found in tissues that do not express uteroglobin. In the -2.4 HS region, which is strictly dependent on progesterone treatment, three DNaseI sites are clustered within a 240 bp DNA segment that contains 20 imperfect repeats of an octanucleotide motif. Upstream of the uteroglobin gene there are three regions containing binding sites for the glucocorticoid and the progesterone receptors, located at -3.7, -2.6/-2.7 and -2.4. The -2.4 region contains two binding sites for the hormone receptors flanking the central HS site. In footprinting experiments with naked DNA binding of the receptor also renders this site more susceptible towards digestion with DNaseI. The -2.6/-2.7 region contains three binding sites for the hormone receptors located 140 bp upstream of the HS -2.4. While the -3.7 HS is also located within a receptor binding fragment, there is no binding of the hormone receptors to the promoter region. Thus, interaction of the receptor with DNA sequences far upstream from the promoter alters the chromatin conformation of neighbouring sequences and results in transcriptional activation.

Animals↗

Gene regulation by steroid hormones.

The location, orientation, and structure of the hormone regulatory elements (HRE) in nine hormonally modulated genes is described. Based on analysis of the contact points between the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and the DNA double helix within the HREs, a model for the interaction is proposed in which a dimer of the receptor in head-to-head orientation binds to the inverted symmetry element of the HRE. The relationship between the regulatory elements for glucocorticoids and progesterone in the long terminal repeat region (LTR) of mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV), and in the promoter region of the chicken lysozyme gene, indicates that the recognition mechanism for both receptors is similar but not identical. Curiously, the hormone ligand is not an absolute requirement for the GR to bind its HRE, though it influences the kinetics of the interaction. Other possible functions of the hormone in vivo are discussed, as well as the molecular mechanism responsible for transcriptional regulation after receptor binding to the HRE.

Animals↗

Glucocorticoid responsiveness of the transcriptional enhancer of Moloney murine sarcoma virus.

The long terminal repeat of Moloney Murine Sarcoma Virus (MoMSV) contains an imperfect direct repeat that serves as a strong transcriptional enhancer. The strength of the MoMSV enhancer is strongly dependent on the presence of glucocorticoid hormone. Mapping studies in combination with DNAase I footprinting experiments define the presence of glucocorticoid regulatory elements at the promoter-proximal ends of each enhancer repeat. These elements behave like inducible enhancers: their regulatory activity is independent of position and orientation when they are linked in cis to a heterologous promoter. These data demonstrate the modular nature of the MoMSV enhancer and identify the glucocorticoid receptor as one of the trans-acting factors that interact with the MoMSV enhancer and mediate its transcriptional activity.

Animals↗

The hormone regulatory element of mouse mammary tumour virus mediates progesterone induction.

Sequences within the long terminal repeat region (LTR) of mouse mammary tumour virus (MMTV) confer progestin inducibility to either the tk-promoter or the MMTV-promoter in T47D cells, a human mammary tumour cell line which possesses high constitutive levels of progesterone receptor. In a clone of MCF7 cells, another human mammary tumour cell line with a low level of progesterone receptor, as well as in rat fibroblasts, glucocorticoid but not progestin induction is observed. The effect of the progesterone analogue R5020 is much more pronounced than the effect of dexamethasone, and at the concentrations required for maximal induction, R5020 does not significantly compete with binding of dexamethasone to the glucocorticoid receptor. In conjunction with previous results on the DNA binding of the glucocorticoid and progesterone receptors, these data show that two different steroid hormones, acting through their respective receptors, can mediate the induction of gene expression by interacting with the same DNA sequences. Our results suggest that the hormone regulatory element of MMTV may primarily be a progesterone-responsive element in mammary cells.

Breast Neoplasms↗

Mechanism of gene regulation by steroid hormones.

A first understanding of the molecular events on the DNA level, underlying transcriptional regulation by steroid hormones, has been approached in the last 3 years by means of protein/DNA interaction studies, using purified receptors. This work summarizes our knowledge of how purified glucocorticoid and progestine receptors interact with their cognate regulatory elements associated with polymerase II dependent genes like mouse mammary tumour virus, the genes encoding human metallothionein IIA, chicken lysozyme, human growth hormone and rabbit uteroglobin. The resulting data agree with those of functional test systems, that have been gene-transfer experiments using stable transformants or transient expression. A consensus sequence for the regulatory element of the glucocorticoid receptor could be deduced that, in its three-dimensional representation, gives an impression of the steric mode of interaction. The regulatory elements of the progestine receptor overlap in two analysed cases with those of the glucocorticoid receptor, but are not identical. Furthermore, also a polymerase I transcribed gene encoding ribosomal RNA in the mouse could be shown to contain a glucocorticoid regulatory element that is functional in in vitro transcription experiments. Finally, the latest strategies are the cloning of the glucocorticoid receptor gene and the analysis of receptor-mediated topological effects.

Animals↗

Receptors for glucocorticosteroid and progesterone recognize distinct features of a DNA regulatory element.

The chicken lysozyme gene can be induced in oviduct cells by four classes of steroid hormones, including glucocorticosteroids and progestins. The glucocorticosteroid receptor of rat liver and the progesterone receptor of rabbit uterus both bind, although with different relative affinities, to two sites in the promoter region of the chicken lysozyme gene located, respectively, between 50 and 80 and between 160 and 200 base pairs upstream of the transcription start point. Now we show that the purified progesterone binding unit of the chicken oviduct progesterone receptor (Mr 110,000, or so-called B subunit) generates a DNase I protection pattern ("footprint") in the promoter-distal site that is longer than the footprint generated by the glucocorticosteroid receptor. Methylation protection studies within the promoter-distal binding site identify four contact points for the chicken progesterone receptor and three contact points for the glucocorticosteroid receptor, of which only one is shared by both receptors. Computer graphics models allow one to envisage a different interaction of each receptor with the B form of the DNA double helix.

Animals↗

Molecular model of the interaction between the glucocorticoid receptor and the regulatory elements of inducible genes.

Binding sites for the glucocorticoid receptor in an ecdysone-inducible gene from Drosophila melanogaster and in the chicken vitellogenin gene are described. A comparison with other binding sites for the glucocorticoid receptor, which have been analyzed by methylation protection experiments, shows they can be classified into three groups. The first group exhibits two blocks of contact points in two subsequent turns of the DNA helix, and includes only functional regulatory elements. The second group shows an identical contact with the hexanucleotide 5'-TGTYCT-3', but only half the contact points in the other turn of the helix, whereas the third group of sites exhibits only the contact points within the conserved hexanucleotide. An analysis of the hydrogen-bonding potential of the DNA base pairs along the major groove of 10 binding sites shows a very well-conserved pattern and a twofold rotational symmetry, suggesting that the array of hydrogen bonds may be a relevant aspect of sequence recognition by hormone receptors. A representation of the binding sites and contact points by computer graphics suggests the interaction of a receptor dimer, in a head-to-head arrangement, with two subsequent turns of the B-DNA helix within the glucocorticoid regulatory elements.

Animals↗