scholarly journals A growth factor-induced kinase phosphorylates the serum response factor at a site that regulates its DNA-binding activity.

1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 6260-6273 ◽  
Author(s):  
V M Rivera ◽  
C K Miranti ◽  
R P Misra ◽  
D D Ginty ◽  
R H Chen ◽  
...  

A signaling pathway by which growth factors may induce transcription of the c-fos proto-oncogene has been characterized. Growth factor stimulation of quiescent fibroblasts activates a protein kinase cascade that leads to the rapid and transient phosphorylation of the serum response factor (SRF), a regulator of c-fos transcription. The in vivo kinetics of SRF phosphorylation and dephosphorylation parallel the activation and subsequent repression of c-fos transcription, suggesting that this phosphorylation event plays a critical role in the control of c-fos expression. The ribosomal S6 kinase pp90rsk, a growth factor-inducible kinase, phosphorylates SRF in vitro at serine 103, the site that becomes newly phosphorylated upon growth factor stimulation in vivo. Phosphorylation of serine 103 significantly enhances the affinity and rate with which SRF associates with its binding site, the serum response element, within the c-fos promoter. These results suggest a model in which the growth factor-induced phosphorylation of SRF at serine 103 contributes to the activation of c-fos transcription by facilitating the formation of an active transcription complex at the serum response element.

1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 6260-6273
Author(s):  
V M Rivera ◽  
C K Miranti ◽  
R P Misra ◽  
D D Ginty ◽  
R H Chen ◽  
...  

A signaling pathway by which growth factors may induce transcription of the c-fos proto-oncogene has been characterized. Growth factor stimulation of quiescent fibroblasts activates a protein kinase cascade that leads to the rapid and transient phosphorylation of the serum response factor (SRF), a regulator of c-fos transcription. The in vivo kinetics of SRF phosphorylation and dephosphorylation parallel the activation and subsequent repression of c-fos transcription, suggesting that this phosphorylation event plays a critical role in the control of c-fos expression. The ribosomal S6 kinase pp90rsk, a growth factor-inducible kinase, phosphorylates SRF in vitro at serine 103, the site that becomes newly phosphorylated upon growth factor stimulation in vivo. Phosphorylation of serine 103 significantly enhances the affinity and rate with which SRF associates with its binding site, the serum response element, within the c-fos promoter. These results suggest a model in which the growth factor-induced phosphorylation of SRF at serine 103 contributes to the activation of c-fos transcription by facilitating the formation of an active transcription complex at the serum response element.


1994 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 4991-4999 ◽  
Author(s):  
P W Atadja ◽  
K F Stringer ◽  
K T Riabowol

Human diploid fibroblasts undergo a limited number of population doublings in vitro and are used widely as a model of cellular aging. Despite growing evidence that cellular aging occurs as a consequence of altered gene expression, little is known about the activity of transcription factors in aging cells. Here, we report a dramatic reduction in the ability of proteins extracted from the nuclei of near-senescent fibroblasts to bind the serum response element which is necessary for serum-induced transcription of the c-fos gene. In contrast, the activities of proteins binding to the RNA polymerase core element, TATA, as well as to the cyclic AMP response element were maintained during cellular aging. While no major differences in the expression of the serum response factor (SRF) that binds the serum response element were seen between early-passage and late-passage cells, hyperphosphorylation of SRF was observed in near-senescent cells. Furthermore, removal of phosphatase inhibitors during the isolation of endogenous nuclear proteins restored the ability of SRF isolated from old cells to bind the SRE. These data, therefore, indicate that hyperphosphorylation of SRF plays a role in altering the ability of this protein to bind to DNA and regulate gene expression in senescent cells.


Blood ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 116 (11) ◽  
pp. 1942-1950 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Halene ◽  
Yuan Gao ◽  
Katherine Hahn ◽  
Stephanie Massaro ◽  
Joseph E. Italiano ◽  
...  

Abstract Serum response factor (Srf) is a MADS–box transcription factor that is critical for muscle differentiation. Its function in hematopoiesis has not yet been revealed. Mkl1, a cofactor of Srf, is part of the t(1;22) translocation in acute megakaryoblastic leukemia, and plays a critical role in megakaryopoiesis. To test the role of Srf in megakaryocyte development, we crossed Pf4-Cre mice, which express Cre recombinase in cells committed to the megakaryocytic lineage, to SrfF/F mice in which functional Srf is no longer expressed after Cre-mediated excision. Pf4-Cre/SrfF/F knockout (KO) mice are born with normal Mendelian frequency, but have significant macrothrombocytopenia with approximately 50% reduction in platelet count. In contrast, the BM has increased number and percentage of CD41+ megakaryocytes (WT: 0.41% ± 0.06%; KO: 1.92% ± 0.12%) with significantly reduced ploidy. KO mice show significantly increased megakaryocyte progenitors in the BM by FACS analysis and CFU-Mk. Megakaryocytes lacking Srf have abnormal stress fiber and demarcation membrane formation, and platelets lacking Srf have abnormal actin distribution. In vitro and in vivo assays reveal platelet function defects in KO mice. Critical actin cytoskeletal genes are down-regulated in KO megakaryocytes. Thus, Srf is required for normal megakaryocyte maturation and platelet production partly because of regulation of cytoskeletal genes.


1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 4209-4214
Author(s):  
A Gualberto ◽  
D LePage ◽  
G Pons ◽  
S L Mader ◽  
K Park ◽  
...  

The rapid, transient induction of the c-fos proto-oncogene by serum growth factors is mediated by the serum response element (SRE). The SRE shares homology with the muscle regulatory element (MRE) of the skeletal alpha-actin promoter. It is not known how these elements respond to proliferative and cell-type-specific signals, but the response appears to involve the binding of the serum response factor (SRF) and other proteins. Here, we report that YY1, a multifunctional transcription factor, binds to SRE and MRE sequences in vitro. The methylation interference footprint of YY1 overlaps with that of the SRF, and YY1 competes with the SRF for binding to these DNA elements. Overexpression of YY1 repressed serum-inducible and basal expression from the c-fos promoter and repressed basal expression from the skeletal alpha-actin promoter. YY1 also repressed expression from the individual SRE and MRE sequences upstream from a TATA element. Unlike that of YY1, SRF overexpression alone did not influence the transcriptional activity of the target sequence, but SRF overexpression could reverse YY1-mediated trans repression. These data suggest that YY1 and the SRF have antagonistic functions in vivo.


2000 ◽  
Vol 20 (20) ◽  
pp. 7550-7558 ◽  
Author(s):  
Narasimhaswamy S. Belaguli ◽  
Jorge L. Sepulveda ◽  
Vishal Nigam ◽  
Frédéric Charron ◽  
Mona Nemer ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Combinatorial interaction among cardiac tissue-restricted enriched transcription factors may facilitate the expression of cardiac tissue-restricted genes. Here we show that the MADS box factor serum response factor (SRF) cooperates with the zinc finger protein GATA-4 to synergistically activate numerous myogenic and nonmyogenic serum response element (SRE)-dependent promoters in CV1 fibroblasts. In the absence of GATA binding sites, synergistic activation depends on binding of SRF to the proximal CArG box sequence in the cardiac and skeletal α-actin promoter. GATA-4's C-terminal activation domain is obligatory for synergistic coactivation with SRF, and its N-terminal domain and first zinc finger are inhibitory. SRF and GATA-4 physically associate both in vivo and in vitro through their MADS box and the second zinc finger domains as determined by protein A pullout assays and by in vivo one-hybrid transfection assays using Gal4 fusion proteins. Other cardiovascular tissue-restricted GATA factors, such as GATA-5 and GATA-6, were equivalent to GATA-4 in coactivating SRE-dependent targets. Thus, interaction between the MADS box and C4 zinc finger proteins, a novel regulatory paradigm, mediates activation of SRF-dependent gene expression.


1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 4545-4554 ◽  
Author(s):  
R P Misra ◽  
V M Rivera ◽  
J M Wang ◽  
P D Fan ◽  
M E Greenberg

Growth factor regulation of c-fos proto-oncogene transcription is mediated by a 20-bp region of dyad symmetry, termed the serum response element. The inner core of this element binds a 67-kDa phosphoprotein, the serum response factor (SRF), that is thought to play a pivotal role in the c-fos transcriptional response. To investigate the mechanism by which SRF regulates c-fos expression, we generated polyclonal anti-SRF antibodies and used these antibodies to analyze the biochemical properties of SRF. These studies indicate that the synthesis of SRF is transient, occurring within 30 min to 4 h after serum stimulation of quiescent fibroblasts. Newly synthesized SRF is transported to the nucleus, where it is increasingly modified by phosphorylation during progression through the cell cycle. Within 2 h of serum stimulation, differentially modified forms of SRF can be distinguished on the basis of the ability to bind a synthetic serum response element. SRF protein exhibits a half-life of greater than 12 h and is predominantly nuclear, with no change occurring in its localization upon serum stimulation. We find that the induction of SRF synthesis is regulated at the transcriptional level and that cytoplasmic SRF mRNA is transiently expressed with somewhat delayed kinetics compared with c-fos mRNA expression. These features of SRF expression suggest a model whereby newly synthesized SRF functions in the shutoff of c-fos transcription.


2010 ◽  
Vol 391 (1) ◽  
pp. 203-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josef Štěpánek ◽  
Vladimír Kopecký ◽  
Alberto Mezzetti ◽  
Pierre-Yves Turpin ◽  
Denise Paulin ◽  
...  

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