scholarly journals A novel retinoic acid-response element requires an enhancer element mediator for transcriptional activation

2004 ◽  
Vol 383 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura R. HARRIS ◽  
Olli-Pekka KAMARAINEN ◽  
Minna SEVAKIVI ◽  
Gwen C. MILLER ◽  
James W. CLARKE ◽  
...  

The Col11a2 gene codes for α2(XI), a subunit of type XI collagen that is a critical component of the cartilage extracellular matrix. The 5′ regulatory region of Col11a2 was subjected to deletional analysis to detect any regulatory element in addition to the two known chondrocyte-specific enhancer elements B/C and D/E. Deletion of the region from −342 to −242 bp reduced transcriptional activity to less than 50% of wild-type, but the sequence showed no independent ability to increase transcription from a minimal promoter. When cloned downstream of the D/E enhancer, however, a subsection of the sequence nearly doubled transcriptional activity and produced an additional 3-fold activation in response to RA (retinoic acid). A 6-bp direct repeat, separated by 4 bp (a DR-4 element) near the 5′-end of this region, was found to be essential for its activity, and was further shown to bind the RA X receptor β in electrophoretic mobility-shift assays. The present study has revealed a novel RA-response element in Col11a2 that does not interact directly with the promoter, but instead requires the D/E enhancer to mediate transcriptional activation. Proteins bound at the enhancer, therefore, would be expected to affect the transcriptional response to RA. Such a system of regulation, particularly if found to be operating in other cartilage genes, could explain the conflicting responses RA produces in chondrocytes under different experimental conditions.

1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 257-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Pöpperl ◽  
M S Featherstone

Hox genes play an important role in the process of vertebrate pattern formation, and their expression is intricately regulated both temporally and spatially. All-trans-retinoic acid (RA), a physiologically active metabolite of vitamin A, affects the expression of a large number of Hox genes in vitro and in vivo. However, the regulatory mechanisms underlying the RA response of these genes have not been extensively studied, and no response element for RA receptors (RARs) has been characterized in a Hox regulatory region. The expression of murine Hox-4.2 and its human homolog, HOX4B, is increased in embryonal carcinoma (EC) cell lines upon RA treatment (M. S. Featherstone, A. Baron, S. J. Gaunt, M.-G. Mattei, and D. Duboule, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85:4760-4764, 1988; A. Simeone, D. Acampora, V. Nigro, A. Faiella, M. D'Esposito, A. Stornaiuolo, F. Mavilio, and E. Boncinelli, Mech. Dev. 33:215-228, 1991). Using transient expression assays, we showed that luciferase reporter gene constructs carrying genomic sequences located upstream of Hox-4.2 responded to RA in murine P19 EC cells. A 402-bp NcoI fragment was necessary for the RA responsiveness of reporter constructs. This fragment contained a regulatory element, 5'-AGGTGA(N)5AGGTCA-3', that closely resembles the consensus sequence for an RA response element. The Hox-4.2 RA response element was critical for the RA induction and specifically bound RARs. In addition, the response to RA could be inhibited by expressing a dominant negative form of RAR alpha in transfected P19 EC cells. These results suggested that Hox-4.2 is a target for RAR-mediated regulation by RA.


1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 257-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Pöpperl ◽  
M S Featherstone

Hox genes play an important role in the process of vertebrate pattern formation, and their expression is intricately regulated both temporally and spatially. All-trans-retinoic acid (RA), a physiologically active metabolite of vitamin A, affects the expression of a large number of Hox genes in vitro and in vivo. However, the regulatory mechanisms underlying the RA response of these genes have not been extensively studied, and no response element for RA receptors (RARs) has been characterized in a Hox regulatory region. The expression of murine Hox-4.2 and its human homolog, HOX4B, is increased in embryonal carcinoma (EC) cell lines upon RA treatment (M. S. Featherstone, A. Baron, S. J. Gaunt, M.-G. Mattei, and D. Duboule, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85:4760-4764, 1988; A. Simeone, D. Acampora, V. Nigro, A. Faiella, M. D'Esposito, A. Stornaiuolo, F. Mavilio, and E. Boncinelli, Mech. Dev. 33:215-228, 1991). Using transient expression assays, we showed that luciferase reporter gene constructs carrying genomic sequences located upstream of Hox-4.2 responded to RA in murine P19 EC cells. A 402-bp NcoI fragment was necessary for the RA responsiveness of reporter constructs. This fragment contained a regulatory element, 5'-AGGTGA(N)5AGGTCA-3', that closely resembles the consensus sequence for an RA response element. The Hox-4.2 RA response element was critical for the RA induction and specifically bound RARs. In addition, the response to RA could be inhibited by expressing a dominant negative form of RAR alpha in transfected P19 EC cells. These results suggested that Hox-4.2 is a target for RAR-mediated regulation by RA.


1999 ◽  
Vol 276 (4) ◽  
pp. G800-G807 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeong H. Kim ◽  
Shufen Meng ◽  
Amy Shei ◽  
Richard A. Hodin

We have used sodium butyrate-treated HT-29 cells as an in vitro model system to study the molecular mechanisms underlying intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP) gene activation. Transient transfection assays using human IAP-CAT reporter genes along with DNase I footprinting were used to localize a critical cis element (IF-III) corresponding to the sequence 5′-GACTGGGCGGGGTCAAGATGGA-3′. Deletion of the IF-III element resulted in a dramatic reduction in reporter gene activity, and IF-III was shown to function in the context of a heterologous (SV40) promoter in a cell type-specific manner, further supporting its functional role in IAP transactivation. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays revealed that IF-III binds Sp1 and Sp3, but these factors comprise only a portion of the total nuclear binding and appear to mediate only a small portion of its transcriptional activity. IF-III does not correspond to any previously characterized regulatory region from other intestine-specific genes. We have thus identified a novel, Sp1-related cis-regulatory element in the human IAP gene that appears to play a role in its transcriptional activation during differentiation in vitro.


Development ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 125 (11) ◽  
pp. 1991-1998 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.I. Packer ◽  
D.A. Crotty ◽  
V.A. Elwell ◽  
D.J. Wolgemuth

Analysis of the regulatory regions of the Hox genes has revealed a complex array of positive and negative cis-acting elements that control the spatial and temporal pattern of expression of these genes during embryogenesis. In this study we show that normal expression of the murine Hoxa4 gene during development requires both autoregulatory and retinoic acid-dependent modes of regulation. When introduced into a Hoxa4 null background, expression of a lacZ reporter gene driven by the Hoxa4 regulatory region (Hoxa4/lacZ) is either abolished or significantly reduced in all tissues at E10. 5-E12.5. Thus, the observed autoregulation of the Drosophila Deformed gene is conserved in a mouse homolog in vivo, and is reflected in a widespread requirement for positive feedback to maintain Hoxa4 expression. We also identify three potential retinoic acid response elements in the Hoxa4 5′ flanking region, one of which is identical to a well-characterized element flanking the Hoxd4 gene. Administration of retinoic acid to Hoxa4/lacZ transgenic embryos resulted in stage-dependent ectopic expression of the reporter gene in the neural tube and hindbrain. When administered to Hoxa4 null embryos, however, persistent ectopic expression was not observed, suggesting that autoregulation is required for maintenance of the retinoic acid-induced expression. Finally, mutation of the consensus retinoic acid response element eliminated the response of the reporter gene to exogenous retinoic acid, and abolished all embryonic expression in untreated embryos, with the exception of the neural tube and prevertebrae. These data add to the evidence that Hox gene expression is regulated, in part, by endogenous retinoids and autoregulatory loops.


1989 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 4835-4845
Author(s):  
S J Anderson ◽  
S Miyake ◽  
D Y Loh

We identified a regulatory region of the murine V beta promoter by both in vivo and in vitro analyses. The results of transient transfection assays indicated that the dominant transcription-activating element within the V beta 8.3 promoter is the palindromic motif identified previously as the conserved V beta decamer. Elimination of this element, by linear deletion or specific mutation, reduced transcriptional activity from this promoter by 10-fold. DNase I footprinting, gel mobility shift, and methylation interference assays confirmed that the palindrome acts as the binding site of a specific nuclear factor. In particular, the V beta promoter motif functioned in vitro as a high-affinity site for a previously characterized transcription activator, ATF. A consensus cyclic AMP response element (CRE) but not a consensus AP-1 site, can substitute for the decamer in vivo. These data suggest that cyclic AMP response element-binding protein (ATF/CREB) or related proteins activate V beta transcription.


Blood ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Trouche ◽  
P Robin ◽  
P Sassone-Corsi ◽  
WL Farrar ◽  
A Harel-Bellan

Abstract The c-fos proto-oncogene seems to play an important role during differentiation and activation of cells from the hematopoietic lineage. Therefore, it is of interest to investigate the mechanism underlying its transcriptional activation in these cells. To delineate the sequences and factors involved in c-fos transcriptional activation during the course of myeloid cell differentiation, we have used the K 562 chronic leukemic cell line as a model. K 562 cells were transfected with chloramphenicol transacetylase (CAT) reporter constructs, including various regions of the human c-fos promoter, and induced to differentiate by two distinct agents: 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13- acetate (TPA), which activates a differentiation program along the megakaryoblastic pathway; and hemin, which induces erythroid differentiation. We show here that TPA treatment of K 562 cells induces fos CAT reporter constructs activation, whereas treatment with hemin does not. Furthermore, predifferentiation of the cells with hemin blocks a subsequent induction by TPA, in correlation with the inhibition by hemin of megakaryoblastic differentiation markers appearance. Both the induction by TPA and the inhibition by hemin are mediated by a dyad symmetry element (DSE) located in the upstream regulatory region, between -318 and -296. These results suggest that the protein complex binding to the DSE regulatory element is the target for c-fos activation by TPA and inhibition by hemin in K 562 cells. However, no modulation of protein affinity for the DSE sequence was detected by gel shift assay during the course of induction or inhibition, suggesting that the structural change responsible for the transcriptional modulation is too unstable or too subtle to be detected by this method.


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