scholarly journals Identification and characterization of a beta-globin promoter-binding factor from murine erythroleukemia cells.

1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 4311-4322 ◽  
Author(s):  
L L Stuvé ◽  
R M Myers

We have identified a DNA-binding activity with specificity for the beta DRE, an evolutionarily conserved transcriptional regulatory element in mammalian adult beta-globin promoters. This binding activity, which we term beta DRf, for beta-globin direct repeat factor, was detected in fractionated nuclear extracts from the murine erythroleukemia cell line and has been partially purified from undifferentiated cells. beta DRf makes symmetric contacts on the two copies of its recognition sequence on both strands and introduces a bend into the DNA helix upon binding. While the factor displays a low binding affinity for the beta DRE in isolation, it binds to the intact beta-globin promoter and DNA fragments containing multiple beta DRE-binding sites with high affinity. A correlation between beta DRf binding affinity and transcriptional activity of beta DRE mutant promoters suggests that this factor stimulates transcription of the beta-globin promoter in vivo.

1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 4311-4322
Author(s):  
L L Stuvé ◽  
R M Myers

We have identified a DNA-binding activity with specificity for the beta DRE, an evolutionarily conserved transcriptional regulatory element in mammalian adult beta-globin promoters. This binding activity, which we term beta DRf, for beta-globin direct repeat factor, was detected in fractionated nuclear extracts from the murine erythroleukemia cell line and has been partially purified from undifferentiated cells. beta DRf makes symmetric contacts on the two copies of its recognition sequence on both strands and introduces a bend into the DNA helix upon binding. While the factor displays a low binding affinity for the beta DRE in isolation, it binds to the intact beta-globin promoter and DNA fragments containing multiple beta DRE-binding sites with high affinity. A correlation between beta DRf binding affinity and transcriptional activity of beta DRE mutant promoters suggests that this factor stimulates transcription of the beta-globin promoter in vivo.


1990 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 972-981
Author(s):  
L L Stuve ◽  
R M Myers

We have identified a previously undetected cis-acting element in the mouse beta-major globin promoter region that is necessary for maximal transcription levels of the gene in the inducible preerythroid murine erythroleukemia (MEL) cell line. This element, termed the beta-globin direct-repeat element (beta DRE), consists of a directly repeated 10-base-pair sequence, 5'-AGGGCAG(G)AGC-3', that lies just upstream from the TATA box of the promoter. The beta DRE motif is highly conserved in all adult mammalian beta-globin promoter sequences known. Mutation of either single repeat alone caused less than a twofold decrease in transcript levels. However, simultaneous mutation of both repeated regions resulted in a ninefold decrease in accumulated transcripts when the gene was transiently transfected into MEL cells. Attachment of the beta DRE to a heterologous promoter had little effect on levels of accumulated transcripts initiated from the promoter in undifferentiated MEL cells but resulted in a threefold increase in transcript levels in induced (differentiated) MEL cells. Similarly, a comparison of the relative effects of mutations in the beta DRE in uninduced and induced MEL cells indicated that the element was more active in induced cells. The increase in beta DRE activity upon MEL cell differentiation and the more pronounced effects of mutations in both repeats of the beta DRE have implications for the mechanism of action of the element in regulating beta-globin transcription and for mutational studies of other repetitive or redundant transcription elements.


1995 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 852-860 ◽  
Author(s):  
J J Bieker ◽  
C M Southwood

Erythroid Krüppel-like factor (EKLF) is an erythroid cell-specific DNA-binding protein that activates transcription from the beta-globin CACCC element, a functionally important and evolutionarily conserved component of globin as well as other erythroid cell-specific promoters and enhancers. We have attempted to elucidate the molecular role of EKLF in erythrocyte-specific transcriptional activation. First, in vivo and in vitro analyses have been used to demonstrate that the level of activation by EKLF is dependent on the orientation and number of CACCC elements, that EKLF contains separable activation and DNA-binding domains, and that the EKLF proline-rich region is a potent activator in CV-1 cells when fused to a nonrelated DNA-binding module. Second, we have established a transient assay in murine erythroleukemia cells in which reproducible levels of a reporter can be induced when linked to a locus control region enhancer-beta-globin promoter and in which induction is abolished when the promoter CAC site is mutated to a GAL site. Third, we demonstrate that the EKLF transactivation region, when fused to the GAL DNA-binding domain, can restore inducibility to this mutated construct and that this inducibility exhibits activator-, promoter-, and cell-type specificity. These results demonstrate that EKLF provides a crucial transactivation function for globin expression and further reinforce the idea that EKLF is an important regulator of CACCC element-directed transcription in erythroid cells.


1990 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 972-981 ◽  
Author(s):  
L L Stuve ◽  
R M Myers

We have identified a previously undetected cis-acting element in the mouse beta-major globin promoter region that is necessary for maximal transcription levels of the gene in the inducible preerythroid murine erythroleukemia (MEL) cell line. This element, termed the beta-globin direct-repeat element (beta DRE), consists of a directly repeated 10-base-pair sequence, 5'-AGGGCAG(G)AGC-3', that lies just upstream from the TATA box of the promoter. The beta DRE motif is highly conserved in all adult mammalian beta-globin promoter sequences known. Mutation of either single repeat alone caused less than a twofold decrease in transcript levels. However, simultaneous mutation of both repeated regions resulted in a ninefold decrease in accumulated transcripts when the gene was transiently transfected into MEL cells. Attachment of the beta DRE to a heterologous promoter had little effect on levels of accumulated transcripts initiated from the promoter in undifferentiated MEL cells but resulted in a threefold increase in transcript levels in induced (differentiated) MEL cells. Similarly, a comparison of the relative effects of mutations in the beta DRE in uninduced and induced MEL cells indicated that the element was more active in induced cells. The increase in beta DRE activity upon MEL cell differentiation and the more pronounced effects of mutations in both repeats of the beta DRE have implications for the mechanism of action of the element in regulating beta-globin transcription and for mutational studies of other repetitive or redundant transcription elements.


Genetics ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 142 (3) ◽  
pp. 661-672 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jodi L Vogel ◽  
Vincent Geuskens ◽  
Lucie Desmet ◽  
N Patrick Higgins ◽  
Ariane Toussaint

Abstract Mutations in an N-terminal 70-amino acid domain of bacteriophage Mu's repressor cause temperature-sensitive DNA-binding activity. Surprisingly, amber mutations can conditionally correct the heat-sensitive defect in three mutant forms of the repressor gene, cts25 (D43-G), cts62 (R47-Q and cts71 (M28-I), and in the appropriate bacterial host produce a heat-stable Sts phenotype (for survival of temperature shifts). Sts repressor mutants are heat sensitive when in supE or supF hosts and heat resistant when in Sup° hosts. Mutants with an Sts phenotype have amber mutations at one of three codons, Q179, Q187, or Q190. The Sts phenotype relates to the repressor size: in Sup° hosts sts repressors are shorter by seven, 10, or 18 amino acids compared to repressors in supE or supF hosts. The truncated form of the sts62-1 repressor, which lacks 18 residues (Q179–V196), binds Mu operator DNA more stably at 42° in vitro compared to its full-length counterpart (cts62 repressor). In addition to influencing temperature sensitivity, the C-terminus appears to control the susceptibility to in vivo Clp proteolysis by influencing the multimeric structure of repressor.


Blood ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 112 (4) ◽  
pp. 1056-1067 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mira T. Kassouf ◽  
Hedia Chagraoui ◽  
Paresh Vyas ◽  
Catherine Porcher

Abstract Dissecting the molecular mechanisms used by developmental regulators is essential to understand tissue specification/differentiation. SCL/TAL-1 is a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor absolutely critical for hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell specification and lineage maturation. Using in vitro and forced expression experimental systems, we previously suggested that SCL might have DNA-binding–independent functions. Here, to assess the requirements for SCL DNA-binding activity in vivo, we examined hematopoietic development in mice carrying a germline DNA-binding mutation. Remarkably, in contrast to complete absence of hematopoiesis and early lethality in scl-null embryos, specification of hematopoietic cells occurred in homozygous mutant embryos, indicating that direct DNA binding is dispensable for this process. Lethality was forestalled to later in development, although some mice survived to adulthood. Anemia was documented throughout development and in adulthood. Cellular and molecular studies showed requirements for SCL direct DNA binding in red cell maturation and indicated that scl expression is positively autoregulated in terminally differentiating erythroid cells. Thus, different mechanisms of SCL's action predominate depending on the developmental/cellular context: indirect DNA binding activities and/or sequestration of other nuclear regulators are sufficient in specification processes, whereas direct DNA binding functions with transcriptional autoregulation are critically required in terminal maturation processes.


1986 ◽  
Vol 6 (12) ◽  
pp. 4723-4733
Author(s):  
L A Chodosh ◽  
R W Carthew ◽  
P A Sharp

A simple approach has been developed for the unambiguous identification and purification of sequence-specific DNA-binding proteins solely on the basis of their ability to bind selectively to their target sequences. Four independent methods were used to identify the promoter-specific RNA polymerase II transcription factor MLTF as a 46-kilodalton (kDa) polypeptide. First, a 46-kDa protein was specifically cross-linked by UV irradiation to a body-labeled DNA fragment containing the MLTF binding site. Second, MLTF sedimented through glycerol gradients at a rate corresponding to a protein of native molecular weight 45,000 to 50,000. Third, a 46-kDa protein was specifically retained on a biotin-streptavidin matrix only when the DNA fragment coupled to the matrix contained the MLTF binding site. Finally, proteins from the most highly purified fraction which were eluted and renatured from the 44- to 48-kDa region of a sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel exhibited both binding and transcription-stimulatory activities. The DNA-binding activity was purified 100,000-fold by chromatography through three conventional columns plus a DNA affinity column. Purified MLTF was characterized with respect to the kinetic and thermodynamic properties of DNA binding. These parameters indicate a high degree of occupancy of MLTF binding sites in vivo.


Development ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 113 (1) ◽  
pp. 245-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Van Doren ◽  
H.M. Ellis ◽  
J.W. Posakony

In Drosophila, a group of regulatory proteins of the helix-loop-helix (HLH) class play an essential role in conferring upon cells in the developing adult epidermis the competence to give rise to sensory organs. Proteins encoded by the daughterless (da) gene and three genes of the achaete-scute complex (AS-C) act positively in the determination of the sensory organ precursor cell fate, while the extramacrochaetae (emc) and hairy (h) gene products act as negative regulators. In the region upstream of the achaete gene of the AS-C, we have identified three ‘E box’ consensus sequences that are bound specifically in vitro by hetero-oligomeric complexes consisting of the da protein and an AS-C protein. We have used this DNA-binding activity to investigate the biochemical basis of the negative regulatory function of emc. Under the conditions of our experiments, the emc protein, but not the h protein, is able to antagonize specifically the in vitro DNA-binding activity of da/AS-C and putative da/da protein complexes. We interpret these results as follows: the heterodimerization capacity of the emc protein (conferred by its HLH domain) allows it to act in vivo as a competitive inhibitor of the formation of functional DNA-binding protein complexes by the da and AS-C proteins, thereby reducing the effective level of their transcriptional regulatory activity within the cell.


Development ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 126 (1) ◽  
pp. 191-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.G. Kramer ◽  
T.M. Jinks ◽  
P. Schedl ◽  
J.P. Gergen

Runt functions as a transcriptional regulator in multiple developmental pathways in Drosophila melanogaster. Recent evidence indicates that Runt represses the transcription of several downstream target genes in the segmentation pathway. Here we demonstrate that runt also functions to activate transcription. The initial expression of the female-specific sex-determining gene Sex-lethal in the blastoderm embryo requires runt activity. Consistent with a role as a direct activator, Runt shows sequence-specific binding to multiple sites in the Sex-lethal early promoter. Using an in vivo transient assay, we demonstrate that Runt's DNA-binding activity is essential for Sex-lethal activation in vivo. These experiments further reveal that increasing the dosage of runt alone is sufficient for triggering the transcriptional activation of Sex-lethal in males. In addition, a Runt fusion protein, containing a heterologous transcriptional activation domain activates Sex-lethal expression, indicating that this regulation is direct and not via repression of other repressors. Moreover, we demonstrate that a small segment of the Sex-lethal early promoter that contains Runt-binding sites mediates Runt-dependent transcriptional activation in vivo.


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