SOX17 directly activates Zfp202 transcription during in vitro endoderm differentiation

2008 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 277-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ethan S. Patterson ◽  
Russell C. Addis ◽  
Michael J. Shamblott ◽  
John D. Gearhart

SOX17 is a SRY-related high-mobility group (HMG) box transcription factor that is necessary for endoderm formation in multiple species. Despite its essential function during endoderm formation and differentiation, few direct targets of SOX17 are known. To identify targets of SOX17, we isolated SOX17 binding sites with a chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-cloning screen. SOX17-ChIP identified zinc finger protein 202 ( Zfp202) as a direct target of SOX17 during endoderm differentiation of F9 embryonal carcinoma cells. A sequence in the first intron of Zfp202 activated transcription in differentiated F9 cells, and overexpression of Sox17 increased the transcriptional activity of this sequence. SOX17 binds to a site within this sequence in electrophoretic mobility shift assays, and mutation of this site decreases the transcriptional activation. Zfp202 is induced concomitantly with Sox17 during endoderm differentiation of F9 cells. We also show that ZFP202 represses Hnf4a, which has been reported for the human ortholog ZNF202. Identifying targets of SOX17 will help to elucidate the molecular basis of endoderm differentiation and may provide a better understanding of the role of endoderm in patterning the other germ layers.

2000 ◽  
Vol 346 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazushige ADACHI ◽  
Masato KATSUYAMA ◽  
Shigeaki SONG ◽  
Takami OKA

mStaf is a zinc-finger protein that activates the transcription of the mouse selenocysteine tRNA gene. The mStaf gene is approx. 35 kb long and split into 16 exons. All exon-intron junction sequences conform to the GT/AG rule. The transcription start site is located 83 bp upstream of the initiation codon. Chromosomal mapping localized the gene to mouse chromosome 7, region E3-F1. Sequence analysis of the proximal promoter region revealed several potential regulatory elements; these include the recognition elements of Sp1, Nkx, CP2, E2A, SIF (SIS-inducible factor), TFII-I and cAMP-responsive element (CRE), but no TATA sequences. Transfection experiments demonstrated that the 5ʹ-flanking region (-1894 to +37) of the mStaf gene drives transcription in mouse NMuMG cells and that a construct containing a fragment from -387 to +37 showed the highest transcriptional activity. Deletion and mutation experiments suggested that four Sp1 sites played an important role for the basal promoter activity. Furthermore, electrophoretic mobility-shift assays demonstrated that Sp3 but not other Sp (specificity protein) family members binds to three of the Sp1 sites. Our present study suggests that Sp3 is involved in the basal transcriptional activation of the mStaf gene.


2003 ◽  
Vol 370 (1) ◽  
pp. 307-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth J. FOX ◽  
Stephanie C. WRIGHT

Mad family proteins are transcriptional repressors that antagonize the activity of the c-Myc proto-oncogene product. Mad3 is expressed specifically during the S-phase of the cell cycle in both proliferating and differentiating cells, suggesting that its biological function is probably linked to processes that occur during this period. To determine the mechanisms that regulate the cell-cycle-specific transcription of Mad3, we used reporter gene assays in stably transfected fibroblasts. We show that the activation of Mad3 at the G1—S boundary is mediated by a single E2F (E2 promoter binding factor)-binding site within the 5′-flanking region of the gene. Mutation of this element eliminated transcriptional activation at S-phase, suggesting that the positively acting E2F proteins play a role in Mad3 regulation. Using electrophoretic mobility-shift assays and chromatin immunoprecipitation, we show that E2F1 binds to the Mad3 5′-flanking region both in vitro and in vivo. We thus identify Mad3 as a novel transcriptional target of E2F1.


Development ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 121 (9) ◽  
pp. 2799-2812 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. McCormick ◽  
N. Core ◽  
S. Kerridge ◽  
M.P. Scott

Along the anterior-posterior axis of animal embryos, the choice of cell fates, and the organization of morphogenesis, is regulated by transcription factors encoded by clustered homeotic or ‘Hox’ genes. Hox genes function in both epidermis and internal tissues by regulating the transcription of target genes in a position- and tissue-specific manner. Hox proteins can have distinct targets in different tissues; the mechanisms underlying tissue and homeotic protein specificity are unknown. Light may be shed by studying the organization of target gene enhancers. In flies, one of the target genes is teashirt (tsh), which encodes a zinc finger protein. tsh itself is a homeotic gene that controls trunk versus head development. We identified a tsh gene enhancer that is differentially activated by Hox proteins in epidermis and mesoderm. Sites where Antennapedia (Antp) and Ultrabithorax (Ubx) proteins bind in vitro were mapped within evolutionarily conserved sequences. Although Antp and Ubx bind to identical sites in vitro, Antp activates the tsh enhancer only in epidermis while Ubx activates the tsh enhancer in both epidermis and in somatic mesoderm. We show that the DNA elements driving tissue-specific transcriptional activation by Antp and Ubx are separable. Next to the homeotic protein-binding sites are extensive conserved sequences likely to control tissue activation by different homeodomain proteins. We propose that local interactions between homeotic proteins and other factors effect activation of targets in proper cell types.


1984 ◽  
Vol 4 (9) ◽  
pp. 1800-1806
Author(s):  
T H Bestor ◽  
S B Hellewell ◽  
V M Ingram

Methyl-accepting assays and a sensitive method for labeling specific CpG sites have been used to show that the DNA of F9 embryonal carcinoma cells decreases in 5-methylcytosine content by ca. 9% during retinoic acid-induced differentiation, whereas the DNA of dimethyl sulfoxide-induced Friend murine erythroleukemia (MEL) cells loses ca. 3.8% of its methyl groups. These values correspond to the demethylation of 2.2 X 10(6) and 0.9 X 10(6) 5'-CpG-3' sites per haploid genome in differentiating F9 and MEL cells, respectively. Fluorography of DNA restriction fragments methylated in vitro and displayed on agarose gels showed that demethylation occurred throughout the genome. In uninduced F9 cells, the sequence TCGA tended to be more heavily methylated than did the sequence CCGG, whereas this tendency was reversed in MEL cells. The kinetics of in vitro DNA methylation reactions catalyzed by MEL cell DNA methyltransferase showed that substantial numbers of hemimethylated sites accumulate in the DNA of terminally differentiating F9 and MEL cells, implying that a partial loss of DNA-methylating activity may accompany terminal differentiation in these two cell types.


2005 ◽  
Vol 387 (2) ◽  
pp. 401-409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jolanta KOPEC ◽  
Alexander BERGMANN ◽  
Gerhard FRITZ ◽  
Elisabeth GROHMANN ◽  
Walter KELLER

TraA is the DNA relaxase encoded by the broad-host-range Grampositive plasmid pIP501. It is the second relaxase to be characterized from plasmids originating from Gram-positive organisms. Full-length TraA (654 amino acids) and the N-terminal domain (246 amino acids), termed TraAN246, were expressed as 6×His-tagged fusions and purified. Small-angle X-ray scattering and chemical cross-linking proved that TraAN246 and TraA form dimers in solution. Both proteins revealed oriTpIP501 (origin of transfer of pIP501) cleavage activity on supercoiled plasmid DNA in vitro. oriT binding was demonstrated by electrophoretic mobility shift assays. Radiolabelled oligonucleotides covering different parts of oriTpIP501 were subjected to binding with TraA and TraAN246. The KD of the protein–DNA complex encompassing the inverted repeat, the nick site and an additional 7 bases was found to be 55 nM for TraA and 26 nM for TraAN246. The unfolding of both protein constructs was monitored by measuring the change in the CD signal at 220 nm upon temperature change. The unfolding transition of both proteins occurred at approx. 42 °C. CD spectra measured at 20 °C showed 30% α-helix and 13% β-sheet for TraA, and 27% α-helix and 18% β-sheet content for the truncated protein. Upon DNA binding, an enhanced secondary structure content and increased thermal stability were observed for the TraAN246 protein, suggesting an induced-fit mechanism for the formation of the specific relaxase–oriT complex.


2007 ◽  
Vol 282 (46) ◽  
pp. 33326-33335 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Corbett ◽  
Hayley J. Bennett ◽  
Hamdia Askar ◽  
Jeffrey Green ◽  
Ian S. Roberts

In this paper, we present the first evidence of a role for the transcriptional regulator SlyA in the regulation of transcription of the Escherichia coli K5 capsule gene cluster and demonstrate, using a combination of reporter gene fusions, DNase I footprinting, and electrophoretic mobility shift assays, the dependence of transcription on the functional interplay between H-NS and SlyA. Both SlyA and H-NS bind to multiple overlapping sites within the promoter in vitro, but their binding is not mutually exclusive, resulting in a remodeled nucleoprotein complex. In addition, we show that expression of the E. coli slyA gene is temperature-regulated, positively autoregulated, and independent of H-NS.


1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 3490-3498 ◽  
Author(s):  
N Hosokawa ◽  
K Hirayoshi ◽  
H Kudo ◽  
H Takechi ◽  
A Aoike ◽  
...  

Transcriptional activation of human heat shock protein (HSP) genes by heat shock or other stresses is regulated by the activation of a heat shock factor (HSF). Activated HSF posttranslationally acquires DNA-binding ability. We previously reported that quercetin and some other flavonoids inhibited the induction of HSPs in HeLa and COLO 320DM cells, derived from a human colon cancer, at the level of mRNA accumulation. In this study, we examined the effects of quercetin on the induction of HSP70 promoter-regulated chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) activity and on the binding of HSF to the heat shock element (HSE) by a gel mobility shift assay with extracts of COLO 320DM cells. Quercetin inhibited heat-induced CAT activity in COS-7 and COLO 320DM cells which were transfected with plasmids bearing the CAT gene under the control of the promoter region of the human HSP70 gene. Treatment with quercetin inhibited the binding of HSF to the HSE in whole-cell extracts activated in vivo by heat shock and in cytoplasmic extracts activated in vitro by elevated temperature or by urea. The binding of HSF activated in vitro by Nonidet P-40 was not suppressed by the addition of quercetin. The formation of the HSF-HSE complex was not inhibited when quercetin was added only during the binding reaction of HSF to the HSE after in vitro heat activation. Quercetin thus interacts with HSF and inhibits the induction of HSPs after heat shock through inhibition of HSF activation.


Microbiology ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 160 (8) ◽  
pp. 1637-1647 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satya Deo Pandey ◽  
Mitali Choudhury ◽  
Manjula Sritharan

The influence of iron levels on the transcription of the hupB gene in Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the focus of this study. Studies in our laboratory showed HupB to be co-expressed with the two siderophores in low-iron organisms. Mycobactin biosynthesis is repressed by the IdeR–Fe2+ complex that binds the IdeR box in the mbtB promoter. Recently, we demonstrated the positive regulatory effect of HupB on mycobactin biosynthesis by demonstrating its binding to a 10 bp HupB box in the mbtB promoter. Earlier, we observed that HupB, expressed maximally in low-iron media (0.02 µg Fe ml−1; 0.36 µM Fe) was still detectable at 8 µg Fe ml−1 (144 µM Fe) when the siderophores were absent and complete repression was seen only at 12 µg Fe ml−1 (216 µM Fe). In this study, we observed elevated levels of hupB transcripts in iron-limited organisms. IdeR, and not FurA, functioned as the iron regulator, by binding to two IdeR boxes in the hupB promoter. Interestingly, the 10 bp HupB box, first reported in the mbtB promoter, was identified in the hupB promoter. Using DNA footprinting and electrophoretic mobility shift assays, we demonstrated the functionality of the HupB box and the two IdeR boxes. The high hupB transcript levels expressed by the organism and the in vitro protein–DNA interaction studies led us to hypothesize the sequence of events occurring in response to changes in the intracellular iron concentration, emphasizing the roles played by IdeR and HupB in iron homeostasis.


1995 ◽  
Vol 311 (3) ◽  
pp. 769-773 ◽  
Author(s):  
M A Bevilacqua ◽  
M C Faniello ◽  
P D′Agostino ◽  
B Quaresima ◽  
M T Tiano ◽  
...  

In this paper, we examine the mechanisms that regulate the expression of the heavy (H) ferritin subunit in the colon carcinoma Caco-2 cell line allowed to differentiate spontaneously in vitro. The differentiation process of these cells in continuous culture is accompanied by an accumulation of the mRNA coding for the apoferritin H chain. The analysis of Caco-2 subclones stably transfected with an H-chain promoter-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) construct revealed that the mRNA increase is paralleled by an enhanced transcription of the H gene, driven by the -100 to +4 region of the H promoter. The H gene transcriptional activation seems to be a specific feature of differentiated Caco-2 cells, since the activity of other promoters did not change upon differentiation. The -100 to +4 region of the H promoter binds a transcription factor called Bbf (B-box binding factor); electrophoretic-mobility-shift-assay analyses showed that the retarded complex due to Bbf-H promoter interaction is significantly increased in the differentiated cells. We propose that the activation of H-ferritin gene expression may be associated with the establishment of a differentiated phenotype in Caco-2 cells, and that the H-ferritin gene transcriptional up-regulation is accompanied by a modification in the activity of the transcription factor Bbf.


2007 ◽  
Vol 27 (24) ◽  
pp. 8834-8847 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hua Fung ◽  
Pingfang Liu ◽  
Bruce Demple

ABSTRACT Arsenite is a human carcinogen causing skin, bladder, and lung tumors, but the cellular mechanisms underlying these effects remain unclear. We investigated expression of the essential base excision DNA repair enzyme apurinic endonuclease 1 (Ape1) in response to sodium arsenite. In mouse 10T½ fibroblasts, Ape1 induction in response to arsenite occurred about equally at the mRNA, protein, and enzyme activity levels. Analysis of the APE1 promoter region revealed an AP-1/CREB binding site essential for arsenite-induced transcriptional activation in both mouse and human cells. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays indicated that an ATF4/c-Jun heterodimer was the responsible transcription factor. RNA interference targeting c-Jun or ATF4 eliminated arsenite-induced APE1 transcription. Suppression of Ape1 or ATF4 sensitized both mouse fibroblasts (10T½) and human lymphoblastoid cells (TK6) to arsenite cytotoxicity. Expression of Ape1 from a transgene did not efficiently restore arsenite resistance in ATF4-depleted cells but did offset initial accumulation of abasic DNA damage following arsenite treatment. Mutagenesis by arsenite (at the TK and HPRT loci in TK6 cells) was observed only for ATF4-depleted cells, which was strongly offset by Ape1 expression from a transgene. Therefore, the ATF4-mediated up-regulation of Ape1 and other genes plays a key role against arsenite-mediated toxicity and mutagenesis.


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