scholarly journals Transcription of Drosophila Troponin I Gene Is Regulated by Two Conserved, Functionally Identical, Synergistic Elements

2004 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 1185-1196 ◽  
Author(s):  
María-Cruz Marín ◽  
José-Rodrigo Rodríguez ◽  
Alberto Ferrús

The Drosophila wings-up A gene encodes Troponin I. Two regions, located upstream of the transcription initiation site (upstream regulatory element) and in the first intron (intron regulatory element), regulate gene expression in specific developmental and muscle type domains. Based on LacZ reporter expression in transgenic lines, upstream regulatory element and intron regulatory element yield identical expression patterns. Both elements are required for full expression levels in vivo as indicated by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction assays. Three myocyte enhancer factor-2 binding sites have been functionally characterized in each regulatory element. Using exon specific probes, we show that transvection is based on transcriptional changes in the homologous chromosome and that Zeste and Suppressor of Zeste 3 gene products act as repressors for wings-up A. Critical regions for transvection and for Zeste effects are defined near the transcription initiation site. After in silico analysis in insects (Anopheles and Drosophila pseudoobscura) and vertebrates (Ratus and Coturnix), the regulatory organization of Drosophila seems to be conserved. Troponin I (TnI) is expressed before muscle progenitors begin to fuse, and sarcomere morphogenesis is affected by TnI depletion as Z discs fail to form, revealing a novel developmental role for the protein or its transcripts. Also, abnormal stoichiometry among TnI isoforms, rather than their absolute levels, seems to cause the functional muscle defects.

1989 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 4568-4570
Author(s):  
L J Schilling ◽  
P J Farnham

In vitro reactions identified a transcription initiation site located 740 nucleotides upstream of the dihydrofolate reductase translational start. Transcription from this site proceeded in the direction opposite to that of dihydrofolate reductase mRNA. Deletion mapping indicated that this new promoter can be separated from the dihydrofolate reductase promoter and that separation increased transcription at -740. Transcripts that initiate at -740 were also detected in cellular RNA, indicating that this is a bona fide transcription initiation site in vivo.


1992 ◽  
Vol 262 (6) ◽  
pp. L662-L671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Q. Chen ◽  
V. Boggaram ◽  
C. R. Mendelson

Expression of the gene encoding pulmonary surfactant protein A, SP-A, is lung specific and developmentally and hormonally regulated. Previously, we observed that SP-A gene transcription is initiated in fetal rabbit lung after day 21 of gestation and reaches maximal levels by day 28. In the present study, a cDNA specific for rabbit SP-A was used to isolate the SP-A gene from a rabbit genomic library. A 7.6-kb fragment containing the entire structural gene and approximately 380 bp of 5'-flanking DNA was isolated and characterized. The transcription initiation site, mapped by primer extension analysis, was localized 23 bp downstream of a putative TATA element. The structural gene is composed of five exons and four introns. The first exon encodes the 5'-untranslated region of the mRNA; the translation initiation site is in exon II, and exon V contains the two polyadenylation sites that give rise to the 2.0- and 3.0-kb species of SP-A mRNA. A potential adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP)-regulatory element (CRE) was identified at -261 bp, and sequences with homology to glucocorticoid-regulatory element (GRE) half-sites were found at -150 and -190 bp upstream of the transcription initiation site and within the first intron. A DNase I hypersensitive site was identified in genomic DNA isolated from 21- and 28-day fetal and adult rabbit lung tissues. This site was mapped within the 5'-flanking region of the SP-A gene, at approximately -80 to -180 bp upstream of the transcription initiation site. The absence of this hypersensitive site in genomic DNA of liver, kidney, and heart tissues suggests that altered chromatin structure may serve a role in lung-specific SP-A gene expression. The presence of this tissue-specific DNase I hypersensitive site in lung nuclei from 21-day gestational age fetal rabbits suggests that the SP-A gene may exist in an accessible conformation prior to the time of transcription initiation.


2009 ◽  
Vol 90 (10) ◽  
pp. 2402-2412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Lace ◽  
Yasushi Yamakawa ◽  
Masato Ushikai ◽  
James R. Anson ◽  
Thomas H. Haugen ◽  
...  

Cellular factors that bind to cis sequences in the human papillomavirus 16 (HPV-16) upstream regulatory region (URR) positively and negatively regulate the viral E6 and E7 oncogene promoter, P97. DNase I footprinting has revealed the binding of cellular proteins to two previously undetected cis elements overlapping and 3′ of the transcription-initiation site of the P97 promoter. Mutations within homologous motifs found in both of these cis elements abolished their negative function in vivo and the binding of the same cellular complex in vitro. This factor was identified as YY1 by complex mobility and binding specificity in comparison with vaccinia virus-expressed, purified recombinant YY1 protein and by antigenic reactivity with YY1 antisera. Cis mutations in the ‘initiator’ YY1 site activated the P97 promoter in vivo and in vitro. P97 was also activated threefold in vitro by depletion of endogenous YY1 with wild-type, but not mutant, YY1 oligonucleotides from the IgH kappa E3′ enhancer. Furthermore, increasing concentrations of exogenous, purified recombinant YY1 repressed wild-type P97 transcript levels by up to threefold, but did not influence the P97 promoter mutated in the ‘initiator’ YY1 site. Thus, the promoter-proximal YY1 site was not necessary for correct transcription initiation at the P97 promoter, but was found to be required for downregulation of P97 transcription in vivo and in vitro. In contrast to other viral and cellular promoters, where YY1 is thought to function as a positive transcription-‘initiator’ factor, HPV-16 P97 transcription is downregulated by YY1 from a critical motif overlapping the transcription start site.


2003 ◽  
Vol 84 (12) ◽  
pp. 3429-3441 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob A. Glahder ◽  
Christina N. Hansen ◽  
Jeppe Vinther ◽  
Birger S. Madsen ◽  
Bodil Norrild

Human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) has the capacity to transform human primary keratinocytes. Maintenance of the transformed phenotype requires constitutive expression of the oncoproteins E6 and E7. The low-risk HPV types express E7 from monocistronic mRNA, but for the high-risk types, no mRNA that encodes E7 as the first open reading frame (ORF) has been identified. We recently identified a transcription initiation site within the E6 ORF of HPV-16 at nt 542. In the present study we have characterized the P542 promoter, which putatively controls monocistronic expression of E7. The monocistronic mRNA is not very abundant, but we have shown that an E7–luciferase fusion protein can be expressed in SiHa cells from a monocistronic HPV-16 transcript initiated at nt 542. The monocistronic mRNA expresses E7–luciferase more efficiently than the most abundant in vivo-like mRNA E6*IE7, initiated by P97 and spliced from nt 226 to 409. Furthermore, the translation initiation of E7 is most abundant from the monocistronic mRNA. We have also shown that the P542 promoter is downregulated by the transcription factor activator protein 4 (AP-4) and the differentiation-dependent factor hSkn-1a, both binding downstream of the transcription initiation site. In conclusion, we have found that P542 is a relatively weak promoter compared with P97 and may be downregulated in differentiated epithelial cells.


1989 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 4568-4570 ◽  
Author(s):  
L J Schilling ◽  
P J Farnham

In vitro reactions identified a transcription initiation site located 740 nucleotides upstream of the dihydrofolate reductase translational start. Transcription from this site proceeded in the direction opposite to that of dihydrofolate reductase mRNA. Deletion mapping indicated that this new promoter can be separated from the dihydrofolate reductase promoter and that separation increased transcription at -740. Transcripts that initiate at -740 were also detected in cellular RNA, indicating that this is a bona fide transcription initiation site in vivo.


1990 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 2832-2839
Author(s):  
A S Ponticelli ◽  
K Struhl

The promoter region of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae his3 gene contains two TATA elements, TC and TR, that direct transcription initiation to two sites designated +1 and +13. On the basis of differences between their nucleotide sequences and their responsiveness to upstream promoter elements, it has previously been proposed that TC and TR promote transcription by different molecular mechanisms. To begin a study of his3 transcription in vitro, we used S. cerevisiae nuclear extracts together with various DNA templates and transcriptional activator proteins that have been characterized in vivo. We demonstrated accurate transcription initiation in vitro at the sites used in vivo, transcriptional activation by GCN4, and activation by a GAL4 derivative on various gal-his3 hybrid promoters. In all cases, transcription stimulation was dependent on the presence of an acidic activation region in the activator protein. In addition, analysis of promoters containing a variety of TR derivatives indicated that the level of transcription in vitro was directly related to the level achieved in vivo. The results demonstrated that the in vitro system accurately reproduced all known aspects of in vivo his3 transcription that depend on the TR element. However, in striking contrast to his3 transcription in vivo, transcription in vitro yielded approximately 20 times more of the +13 transcript than the +1 transcript. This result was not due to inability of the +1 initiation site to be efficiently utilized in vitro, but rather it reflects the lack of TC function in vitro. The results support the idea that TC and TR mediate transcription from the wild-type promoter by distinct mechanisms.


1988 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 2896-2909 ◽  
Author(s):  
E A Sternberg ◽  
G Spizz ◽  
W M Perry ◽  
D Vizard ◽  
T Weil ◽  
...  

Terminal differentiation of skeletal myoblasts is accompanied by induction of a series of tissue-specific gene products, which includes the muscle isoenzyme of creatine kinase (MCK). To begin to define the sequences and signals involved in MCK regulation in developing muscle cells, the mouse MCK gene has been isolated. Sequence analysis of 4,147 bases of DNA surrounding the transcription initiation site revealed several interesting structural features, some of which are common to other muscle-specific genes and to cellular and viral enhancers. To test for sequences required for regulated expression, a region upstream of the MCK gene from -4800 to +1 base pairs, relative to the transcription initiation site, was linked to the coding sequences of the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) gene. Introduction of this MCK-CAT fusion gene into C2 muscle cells resulted in high-level expression of CAT activity in differentiated myotubes and no detectable expression in proliferating undifferentiated myoblasts or in nonmyogenic cell lines. Deletion mutagenesis of sequences between -4800 and the transcription start site showed that the region between -1351 and -1050 was sufficient to confer cell type-specific and developmentally regulated expression on the MCK promoter. This upstream regulatory element functioned independently of position, orientation, or distance from the promoter and therefore exhibited the properties of a classical enhancer. This upstream enhancer also was able to confer muscle-specific regulation on the simian virus 40 promoter, although it exhibited a 3- to 5-fold preference for its own promoter. In contrast to the cell type- and differentiation-specific expression of the upstream enhancer, the MCK promoter was able to function in myoblasts and myotubes and in nonmyogenic cell lines when combined with the simian virus 40 enhancer. An additional positive regulatory element was identified within the first intron of the MCK gene. Like the upstream enhancer, this intragenic element functioned independently of position, orientation, and distance with respect to the MCK promoter and was active in differentiated myotubes but not in myoblasts. These results demonstrate that expression of the MCK gene in developing muscle cells is controlled by complex interactions among multiple upstream and intragenic regulatory elements that are functional only in the appropriate cellular context.


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