CCAAT/Enhancer-binding Protein Isoforms and Are Expressed in Mammary Epithelial Cells and Bind to Multiple Sites in the -Casein Gene Promoter

C/EBPδ (CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein δ) is a member of the C/EBP family of nuclear proteins that function in the control of cell growth, survival, differentiation and apoptosis. We previously demonstrated that C/EBPδ gene transcription is highly induced in G0 growth-arrested mammary epithelial cells but the C/EBPδ protein exhibits a t1/2 of only ∼120 min. The goal of the present study was to investigate the role of C/EBPδ modification by ubiquitin and C/EBPδ proteasome-mediated degradation. Structural and mutational analyses demonstrate that an intact leucine zipper is required for C/EBPδ ubiquitination; however, the leucine zipper does not provide lysine residues for ubiquitin conjugation. C/EBPδ ubiquitination is not required for proteasome-mediated C/EBPδ degradation and the presence of ubiquitin does not increase C/EBPδ degradation by the proteasome. Instead, the leucine zipper stabilizes the C/EBPδ protein by forming homodimers that are poor substrates for proteasome degradation. To investigate the cellular conditions associated with C/EBPδ ubiquitination we treated G0 growth-arrested mammary epithelial cells with DNA-damage- and oxidative-stress-inducing agents and found that C/EBPδ ubiquitination is induced in response to H2O2. However, C/EBPδ protein stability is not influenced by H2O2 treatment. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that proteasome-mediated protein degradation of C/EBPδ is ubiquitin-independent.

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beta-Casein mRNA sequesters a single-stranded nucleic acid-binding protein which negatively regulates the beta-casein gene promoter.

Molecular and Cellular Biology ◽

10.1128/mcb.14.9.6004 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 14 (9) ◽

pp. 6004-6012 ◽

Cited By ~ 33

Author(s):

S Altiok ◽

B Groner

Keyword(s):

Epithelial Cells ◽

Untranslated Region ◽

Mammary Epithelial Cells ◽

Gene Promoter ◽

Regulatory Elements ◽

Hormonal Control ◽

Mammary Epithelial ◽

Casein Gene ◽

Lactogenic Hormone ◽

Beta Casein

beta-Casein gene expression in mammary epithelial cells is under the control of the lactogenic hormones, glucocorticoids, insulin, and prolactin. The hormonal control affects gene transcription, and several regulatory elements in the beta-casein gene promoter between positions -80 and -221 have previously been identified. A region located in the promoter between positions -170 and -221 contains overlapping sequences for negative and positive regulatory elements. A sequence-specific single-stranded DNA-binding factor (STR), composed of two proteins with molecular masses of 35 and 54 kDa, recognizes the upper strand of this region and has a repressing role in transcription. High-level STR binding activity was observed in nuclear extracts from mammary glands of pregnant and postlactating mice and from noninduced HC11 mammary epithelial cells, cells with a low level of transcriptional activity of the beta-casein gene. STR activity is downregulated in mammary epithelial cells during lactation of the animals and after lactogenic hormone induction of HC11 cells in culture. These cells strongly transcribe the beta-casein gene. We investigated the mechanism of downregulation and found that a lactogenic-hormone-induced molecule (I-STR) inhibits STR from binding to its DNA target. I-STR is composed of RNA. STR is sequestered into the cytoplasm by I-STR after lactogenic hormone induction of mammary epithelial cells and remains present in an RNA-bound form. A high-affinity STR binding site was found in the 5' untranslated region of beta-casein mRNA. We propose that beta-casein mRNA can function as I-STR. beta-Casein mRNA may positively regulate its own transcription by translocating STR from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. The beta-casein STR binding sequence increases expression of a transfected beta-galactosidase gene when it is placed into the 5' untranslated region sequence of the mRNA. STR may have a positive role in posttranscriptional regulation.

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