scholarly journals Regulation of the DNA-binding and transcriptional activities of Xenopus laevis NFI-X by a novel C-terminal domain.

1995 ◽  
Vol 15 (10) ◽  
pp. 5552-5562 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Roulet ◽  
M T Armentero ◽  
G Krey ◽  
B Corthésy ◽  
C Dreyer ◽  
...  

The nuclear factor I (NFI) family consists of sequence-specific DNA-binding proteins that activate both transcription and adenovirus DNA replication. We have characterized three new members of the NFI family that belong to the Xenopus laevis NFI-X subtype and differ in their C-termini. We show that these polypeptides can activate transcription in HeLa and Drosophila Schneider line 2 cells, using an activation domain that is subdivided into adjacent variable and subtype-specific domains each having independent activation properties in chimeric proteins. Together, these two domains constitute the full NFI-X transactivation potential. In addition, we find that the X. laevis NFI-X proteins are capable of activating adenovirus DNA replication through their conserved N-terminal DNA-binding domains. Surprisingly, their in vitro DNA-binding activities are specifically inhibited by a novel repressor domain contained within the C-terminal part, while the dimerization and replication functions per se are not affected. However, inhibition of DNA-binding activity in vitro is relieved within the cell, as transcriptional activation occurs irrespective of the presence of the repressor domain. Moreover, the region comprising the repressor domain participates in transactivation. Mechanisms that may allow the relief of DNA-binding inhibition in vivo and trigger transcriptional activation are discussed.

2003 ◽  
Vol 23 (12) ◽  
pp. 4257-4266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jared M. Ordway ◽  
Derek Eberhart ◽  
Tom Curran

ABSTRACT Ref-1 participates in DNA repair as well as in redox regulation of transcription factor function. The redox function of Ref-1 involves reduction of oxidized cysteine residues within the DNA binding domains of several transcription factors, including Fos and Jun. Reduction of these residues is required for DNA binding, providing a redox-dependent mechanism for regulation of target gene expression. Previous in vitro studies implicated cysteine 65 of human Ref-1 (cysteine 64 of mouse Ref-1) as the redox catalytic site. We analyzed the in vivo role of cysteine 64 in redox regulation of AP-1 activity by introducing a cysteine-to-alanine point mutation into the endogenous mouse Ref-1 gene (ref-1 C64A). Unlike Ref-1 null mice, which die very early in embryonic development, homozygous ref-1 C64A mice are viable, they survive to normal life expectancy, and they display no overt abnormal phenotype. Although Ref-1 provides the major AP-1-reducing activity in murine cells, ref-1 C64A cells retain normal levels of endogenous AP-1 DNA binding activity in vivo as well as normal Fos- and Jun-reducing activity in vitro. These results demonstrate that Ref-1 cysteine 64/65 is not required for redox regulation of AP-1 DNA binding in vivo, and they challenge previous hypotheses regarding the mechanism by which Ref-1 regulates the redox-dependent activity of specific transcription factors.


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.


2005 ◽  
Vol 79 (13) ◽  
pp. 8661-8664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Schuck ◽  
Arne Stenlund

ABSTRACT Viral initiator proteins are polypeptides that form oligomeric complexes on the origin of DNA replication (ori). These complexes carry out a multitude of functions related to initiation of DNA replication, and although many of these functions have been characterized biochemically, little is understood about how the complexes are assembled. Here we demonstrate that loss of one particular interaction, the dimerization between E1 DNA binding domains, has a severe effect on DNA replication in vivo but has surprisingly modest effects on most individual biochemical activities in vitro. We conclude that the dimer interaction is primarily required for initial recognition of ori.


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.


1989 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 2464-2476
Author(s):  
M Cockell ◽  
B J Stevenson ◽  
M Strubin ◽  
O Hagenbüchle ◽  
P K Wellauer

Footprint analysis of the 5'-flanking regions of the alpha-amylase 2, elastase 2, and trypsina genes, which are expressed in the acinar pancreas, showed multiple sites of protein-DNA interaction for each gene. Competition experiments demonstrated that a region from each 5'-flanking region interacted with the same cell-specific DNA-binding activity. We show by in vitro binding assays that this DNA-binding activity also recognizes a sequence within the 5'-flanking regions of elastase 1, chymotrypsinogen B, carboxypeptidase A, and trypsind genes. Methylation interference and protection studies showed that the DNA-binding activity recognized a bipartite motif, the subelements of which were separated by integral helical turns of DNA. The alpha-amylase 2 cognate sequence was found to enhance in vivo transcription of its own promoter in a cell-specific manner, which identified the DNA-binding activity as a transcription factor (PTF 1). The observation that PTF 1 bound to DNA sequences that have been defined as transcriptional enhancers by others suggests that this factor is involved in the coordinate expression of genes transcribed in the acinar pancreas.


1997 ◽  
Vol 273 (4) ◽  
pp. L814-L824 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhou Zhu ◽  
Weiliang Tang ◽  
Jack M. Gwaltney ◽  
Yang Wu ◽  
Jack A. Elias

Neutrophil infiltration is a well-documented early event in the pathogenesis of rhinovirus (RV) infections. To further understand the mechanisms responsible for this neutrophilia, we determined whether interleukin (IL)-8 was present at sites of experimental RV infection in vivo and characterized the mechanism(s) by which RV stimulates IL-8 production in vitro. IL-8 was readily detectable in the nasal washings of all normal volunteers and did not increase with sham nasal inoculation. In contrast, RV infection caused a significant additional increase in nasal IL-8, the levels of which peaked 48–72 h after virus inoculation. RV was a potent stimulator of IL-8 protein production by A549 epithelial-like cells, MRC-5 fibroblasts, and normal human bronchial epithelial cells in vitro. This induction was associated with a significant increase in IL-8 mRNA accumulation and gene transcription. RV also stimulated IL-8 promoter-driven luciferase activity. This stimulation was significantly decreased by mutation of the nuclear factor (NF)-IL-6 site and was completely abrogated by mutation of the NF-κB site in this promoter. In addition, NF-κB-DNA binding activity was rapidly induced in RV-infected cells. This inducible binding was made up of p65 and, to a lesser extent, p50 NF-κB moieties. These studies demonstrate that IL-8 is present in normal nasal secretions and that the levels of IL-8 are further increased after RV infection. They also demonstrate that RVs are potent stimulators of IL-8 production and that this induction is mediated, at least in part, by an NF-κB-dependent transcriptional activation pathway. IL-8 may contribute to the pathogenesis of RV infection, and NF-κB activation may be a central event in RV-induced pathologies.


2004 ◽  
Vol 85 (7) ◽  
pp. 2001-2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koen W. R. van Cleef ◽  
Wendy M. A. Scaf ◽  
Karen Maes ◽  
Suzanne J. F. Kaptein ◽  
Erik Beuken ◽  
...  

An intriguing feature of the rat cytomegalovirus (RCMV) genome is open reading frame (ORF) r127, which shows similarity to the rep genes of parvoviruses as well as the U94 genes of human herpesvirus type 6A (HHV-6A) and 6B (HHV-6B). Counterparts of these genes have not been found in other herpesviruses. Here, it is shown that the r127 gene is transcribed during the early and late phases of virus replication in vitro as an unspliced 1·1 kb transcript containing the complete r127 ORF. Transcripts of r127 were also detected in various organs of RCMV-infected rats at 1 week post-infection (p.i.), but only in the salivary gland at 4 months p.i. Using rabbit polyclonal antibodies raised against the r127-encoded protein (pr127), pr127 was found to be expressed as early as 12 h p.i. within the nuclei of RCMV-infected cells in vitro. Expression of pr127 was also observed within the nuclei of cells in various organs of RCMV-infected rats at 3 weeks p.i. Moreover, pr127 was demonstrated to bind single- as well as double-stranded DNA. Finally, an RCMV r127 deletion mutant (RCMVΔr127) was generated, in which the r127 ORF was disrupted. This deletion mutant, however, was shown to replicate with a similar efficiency as wild-type RCMV (wt RCMV), both in vitro and in vivo. Taken together, it is concluded that the RCMV r127 gene encodes a nuclear protein with single- and double-stranded DNA-binding activity that is dispensable for virus replication, not only in vitro, but also during the acute phase of infection in vivo.


2004 ◽  
Vol 279 (44) ◽  
pp. 45887-45896 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark J. Demma ◽  
Serena Wong ◽  
Eugene Maxwell ◽  
Bimalendu Dasmahapatra

The p53 protein plays a major role in the maintenance of genome stability in mammalian cells. Mutations of p53 occur in over 50% of all cancers and are indicative of highly aggressive cancers that are hard to treat. Recently, there has been a high degree of interest in therapeutic approaches to restore growth suppression functions to mutant p53. Several compounds have been reported to restore wild type function to mutant p53. One such compound, CP-31398, has been shown effectivein vivo, but questions have arisen to whether it actually affects p53. Here we show that mutant p53, isolated from cells treated with CP-31398, is capable of binding to p53 response elementsin vitro. We also show the compound restores DNA-binding activity to mutant p53 in cells as determined by a chromatin immunoprecipitation assay. In addition, using purified p53 core domain from two different hotspot mutants (R273H and R249S), we show that CP-31398 can restore DNA-binding activity in a dose-dependent manner. Using a quantitative DNA binding assay, we also show that CP-31398 increases significantly the amount of mutant p53 that binds to cognate DNA (Bmax) and its affinity (Kd) for DNA. The compound, however, does not affect the affinity (Kdvalue) of wild type p53 for DNA and only increasesBmaxslightly. In a similar assay PRIMA1 does not have any effect on p53 core DNA-binding activity. We also show that CP-31398 had no effect on the DNA-binding activity of p53 homologs p63 and p73.


1989 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 2464-2476 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Cockell ◽  
B J Stevenson ◽  
M Strubin ◽  
O Hagenbüchle ◽  
P K Wellauer

Footprint analysis of the 5'-flanking regions of the alpha-amylase 2, elastase 2, and trypsina genes, which are expressed in the acinar pancreas, showed multiple sites of protein-DNA interaction for each gene. Competition experiments demonstrated that a region from each 5'-flanking region interacted with the same cell-specific DNA-binding activity. We show by in vitro binding assays that this DNA-binding activity also recognizes a sequence within the 5'-flanking regions of elastase 1, chymotrypsinogen B, carboxypeptidase A, and trypsind genes. Methylation interference and protection studies showed that the DNA-binding activity recognized a bipartite motif, the subelements of which were separated by integral helical turns of DNA. The alpha-amylase 2 cognate sequence was found to enhance in vivo transcription of its own promoter in a cell-specific manner, which identified the DNA-binding activity as a transcription factor (PTF 1). The observation that PTF 1 bound to DNA sequences that have been defined as transcriptional enhancers by others suggests that this factor is involved in the coordinate expression of genes transcribed in the acinar pancreas.


1996 ◽  
Vol 271 (4) ◽  
pp. C1172-C1180 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. H. Jiang ◽  
G. L. Semenza ◽  
C. Bauer ◽  
H. H. Marti

Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) is a heterodimeric basic helix-loop-helix protein implicated in the transcriptional activation of genes encoding erythropoietin, glycolytic enzymes, and vascular endothelial growth factor in hypoxic mammalian cells. In this study, we have quantitated HIF-1 DNA-binding activity and protein levels of the HIF-1 alpha and HIF-1 beta subunits in human HeLa cells exposed to O2 concentrations ranging from 0 to 20% in the absence or presence of 1 mM KCN to inhibit oxidative phosphorylation and cellular O2 consumption. HIF-1 DNA-binding activity, HIF-1 alpha protein and HIF-1 beta protein each increased exponentially as cells were subjected to decreasing O2 concentrations, with a half maximal response between 1.5 and 2% O2 and a maximal response at 0.5% O2, both in the presence and absence of KCN. The HIF-1 response was greatest over O2 concentrations associated with ischemic/hypoxic events in vivo. These results provide evidence for the involvement of HIF-1 in O2 homeostasis and represent a functional characterization of the putative O2 sensor that initiates hypoxia signal transduction leading to HIF-1 expression.


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