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J P Whitlock

Publications and source records attributed to J P Whitlock.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Protein-DNA interactions at a dioxin-responsive enhancer. Evidence that the transformed Ah receptor is heteromeric.

The Ah receptor in rat hepatic cytosol was transformed to a DNA-binding form by incubation in vitro with the ligand 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin. The transformed receptor was covalently cross-linked to a bromodeoxyuridine-substituted DNA recognition motif by exposure to ultraviolet irradiation. Analyses of the cross-linked protein-DNA complexes by gel electrophoresis and autoradiography imply that the DNA-binding form of the liganded Ah receptor is composed of two protein components, whose molecular masses are about 110 and 100 kDa. Protease digestion studies suggest that the two components have different primary structures. Photoaffinity labeling studies imply that the smaller protein is the ligand-binding component of the receptor. These findings constitute biochemical evidence that the DNA-binding form of the Ah receptor is a heterodimer.

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PubMed1990

Organization and function of a dioxin-responsive enhancer.

The dioxin-responsive enhancer upstream of the CYP1A1 gene contains four copies of the recognition motif for the liganded Ah receptor. The results of deletion analyses, linker-scanning analyses, and the analysis of individual enhancer subdomains reveal that each copy of the motif contributes to the response of the enhancer to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin. In the context of the dioxin-responsive enhancer, a GC box, representing the DNA binding site for Sp1 (or a related transcription factor), has no detectable intrinsic activity but enhances gene expression when linked to a recognition motif for the liganded Ah receptor, thereby producing a synergistic effect on enhancer function.

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PubMed1990

2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin-inducible, Ah receptor-mediated bending of enhancer DNA.

The environmental contaminant 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin produces its biological effects by binding to an intracellular protein, the Ah receptor. The liganded receptor activates transcription by binding to a specific recognition motif within a dioxin-responsive enhancer upstream of the target CYP1A1 gene. Here, we have used gel retardation to analyze the interaction between the liganded Ah receptor and five circularly permuted DNA fragments that contain a receptor recognition motif. Our findings indicate that the binding of the liganded receptor to its recognition motif bends the DNA at (or near) the site of the protein-DNA interaction. This observation implies that Ah receptor-induced DNA distortion may contribute to the activation of CYP1A1 transcription by 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin.

Affinity Labels↗
PubMed1990

Dioxin-inducible, Ah receptor-dependent transcription in vitro.

We have developed a homologous in vitro transcription system that requires (i) 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (called TCDD or dioxin), (ii) the Ah receptor, and (iii) a dioxin-responsive enhancer for activity. Unfractionated nuclear extracts from mouse hepatoma cells contain an inhibitor and fail to direct transcription in vitro. However, following phosphocellulose chromatography and reconstitution, the fractionated nuclear extract directs accurate transcription in vitro, using as a template the promoter/enhancer region from the mouse cytochrome P1-450 gene (Cyp1a1) linked to a "G-free cassette" (which generates a transcript with no guanosine residues). Extracts from TCDD-treated cells exhibit higher activity than extracts from untreated cells when transcribing a template containing both the promoter and enhancer but not when transcribing a template containing the promoter alone. Extracts from Ah receptor-defective cells fail to direct in vitro transcription in a TCDD-inducible fashion. A regulatory element that contains two binding sites for the liganded Ah receptor plus a truncated Cyp1a1 promoter suffices to direct TCDD-inducible, Ah receptor-dependent transcription in vitro. The inducible, receptor-dependent, enhancer-dependent properties of this system make it appropriate for analyzing in vitro the mechanism of dioxin action and the function of the Ah receptor.

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PubMed1990

Functional analysis of the transcriptional promoter for the CYP1A1 gene.

In mouse hepatoma cells, the environmental contaminant 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) increases the transcription rate of the CYP1A1 gene, which encodes a cytochrome P-450 enzyme. In this study, we analyzed the DNA region immediately upstream of the CYP1A1 gene. A domain that extends upstream to nucleotide--166 was found to function as a transcriptional promoter. The promoter was silent when uncoupled from the dioxin-responsive enhancer located farther upstream. DNase footprinting experiments indicated that nuclear proteins interact with distinct domains of the promoter in a TCDD-independent fashion. Mutational analyses indicated that the CYP1A1 promoter contains at least three functional domains, including a TATAAA sequence, a CCAAT box transcription factor/nuclear factor I-like recognition motif, and a guanine-rich G box.

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PubMed1989

The potential role of DNA methylation in the response to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin.

The Ah receptor is an intracellular protein that binds the environmental contaminant 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin. The liganded receptor interacts with a specific DNA recognition motif located within a dioxin-responsive enhancer upstream of the CYP1A1 gene. Methylation protection and methylation interference studies indicate that the liganded receptor contacts both DNA strands, at 4 guanine residues contained within the recognition motif. These findings imply that the liganded receptor interacts with its cognate enhancer within the major groove of the DNA helix. Cytosine methylation of the recognition motif at CpG dinucleotides diminishes the protein-DNA interaction, as measured by gel retardation. Furthermore, methylation at cytosine inhibits the enhancer function of the DNA. These findings imply that DNA methylation can diminish the response to dioxin by impeding the Ah receptor-enhancer interaction.

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PubMed1989

Protein-DNA interactions at recognition sites for the dioxin-Ah receptor complex.

Gel retardation analyses reveal a cluster of six binding sites for the liganded Ah receptor within a 700-base pair DNA domain upstream of the mouse CYP1A1 gene. The nucleotide sequences of the binding sites define a consensus recognition motif for the liganded receptor. The consensus motif is not symmetric. Alteration of the consensus motif produces a decrease in the receptor-DNA interaction. The ligand receptor binds as a monomer to its recognition motif and preferentially binds to double-stranded DNA. These observations reveal apparent differences between 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin and steroid hormones in their respective mechanisms of action.

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PubMed1989

Activation of transcription as a general mechanism of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin action.

We studied the response to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) of mouse hepatoma cells that contain a single, integrated copy of a chimeric gene under the control of a dioxin-responsive DNA domain, which was originally associated with the cytochrome P450iA1 gene. Our findings indicate that TCDD increases the RNA polymerase II-catalyzed transcription rate of the chimeric gene and that the transcripts are initiated at the correct promoter. Therefore, the dioxin-responsive DNA operates as a bona fide transcriptional enhancer. Other studies imply that the Ah receptor mediates the transcriptional response to TCDD. Our results indicate that the Ah receptor-dependent, dioxin-responsive enhancer can activate transcription when in a regulatory context and in a chromosomal location different from those of the cytochrome P450iA1 gene. Therefore, in principle, the receptor-enhancer system represents a mechanism by which numerous genes can respond to aromatic hydrocarbons in the environment.

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PubMed1989

Activation of cytochrome P450IA1 gene expression by 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin in wild-type and high-activity variant mouse hepatoma cells.

We analyzed the function of a DNA domain located upstream of the cytochrome P450IA1 gene in wild-type (Hepa 1c1c7) mouse hepatoma cells and in high-activity variant (HAV) cells that overtranscribe the gene in response to the inducer 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). Transfection experiments indicated that both wild-type and HAV DNA confer responsiveness to TCDD upon the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) gene. However, the level of CAT activity was four- to fivefold higher when the hybrid genes were expressed in the HAV cells. These findings imply that an alteration in a trans-acting function confers the HAV phenotype. Studies of mRNA accumulation imply that TCDD acts by enhancing the rate of mRNA initiation rather than by removing a block in mRNA elongation. We found that both wild-type and HAV cells used the same transcriptional promoter as that described previously for the cytochrome P450IA1 gene in C57BL/6 mouse liver. Both cell types exhibited superinduction of cytochrome P450IA1 gene expression in response to TCDD plus cycloheximide.

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PubMed1989

The control of cytochrome P-450 gene expression by dioxin.

Many chemicals produce their biological effects by binding to specific 'receptor' macromolecules on or within the cell. Much current research in pharmacology and toxicology is aimed at the molecular mechanisms by which such ligand-receptor interactions elicit cellular responses. Studies of the mechanism by which TCDD (dioxin) activates CYP1A1 gene transcription demonstrate the usefulness of applying recombinant DNA and gene transfer methods to analyse these fundamental problems. In this article, James Whitlock summarizes the evidence that the Ah receptor functions as a ligand-dependent transcription factor during the induction of aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activity by TCDD.

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PubMed1989

2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin-inducible aryl hydrocarbon receptor-mediated change in CYP1A1 chromatin structure occurs independently of transcription.

2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin induces, in a receptor-dependent fashion, an increase in the accessibility of CYP1A1 chromatin to restriction endonucleases. The 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin-induced change in chromatin structure occurs rapidly and does not require ongoing RNA or protein synthesis. The increased accessibility of chromatin DNA may facilitate its subsequent interaction with other transcription factors.

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PubMed1989

Induction of hepatic cytochrome P450 gene expression by 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin.

The halogenated aromatic hydrocarbon 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD, dioxin) is a persistent, widespread, potentially toxic environmental contaminant, which is a potent inducer of aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activity in the liver and other tissues. TCDD induces hydroxylase activity by increasing the rate of transcription of the CYP1A1 gene. Activation of CYP1A1 transcription requires the binding of TCDD to an intracellular protein, the Ah receptor, followed by the binding of the liganded receptor to a dioxin-responsive enhancer that is located upstream from the CYP1A1 gene. The liganded receptor recognizes a specific DNA sequence, which is present in multiple copies within the enhancer. The receptor-enhancer interaction occurs within the major groove of the DNA helix. DNA methylation in vitro interferes with the receptor-enhancer interaction and, therefore, has the potential to inhibit the biological response to TCDD.

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PubMed1988

The DNA recognition site for the dioxin-Ah receptor complex. Nucleotide sequence and functional analysis.

The environmental contaminant 2,3,7,8-tetra-chlorodibenzo-p-dioxin produces its biological effects by binding to an intracellular protein (the Ah receptor). The dioxin-Ah receptor complex activates cytochrome P1-450 gene transcription by interacting with dioxin-responsive enhancers. Here, we report that the dioxin-Ah receptor complex binds to DNA containing the "core" sequence 5'-TA/TGCGTG-3', which is present in each of three receptor-dependent enhancers. Functional analyses indicate that binding of the liganded Ah receptor to the core sequence fails to generate an active enhancer and that nucleotides flanking the core sequence must contribute to enhancer function and dioxin action.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Inducible, receptor-dependent protein-DNA interactions at a dioxin-responsive transcriptional enhancer.

We have identified in mouse hepatoma cells a third cis-acting dioxin-responsive element (DRE) within the 5' flanking region of the cytochrome P1-450 gene, which is transcriptionally activated by 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). The DRE can activate a heterologous promoter and functions in either orientation; therefore, it has the properties of a transcriptional enhancer. The DRE fails to activate transcription in receptor-defective cells; therefore, it requires TCDD-receptor complexes for its function. By using a gel retardation assay, we show that nuclear extracts contain a protein that binds to the DRE in TCDD-inducible, receptor-dependent, and DNA sequence-specific fashion. The protein-DNA interaction occurs within 10 min of exposure of the cell to TCDD and does not require ongoing protein synthesis. Our results imply that the TCDD-receptor complex interacts specifically with the DRE and demonstrate a relationship between protein-DNA interaction in vitro and function in vivo. Our findings also suggest that the affinity of the TCDD-receptor complex for the DRE may be relatively high in comparison to analogous protein-DNA interactions at other inducible enhancers.

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PubMed1987

2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin receptors regulate transcription of the cytochrome P1-450 gene.

The environmental contaminant 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) dioxin, produces a diverse set of biological responses which, in some cases, reflects the altered expression of specific genes. An intracellular receptor protein binds TCDD saturably and with high affinity and mediates several of TCDD's biological effects. In mouse hepatoma cells, TCDD induces aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activity by activating the transcription of the cytochrome P1-450 gene. Studies of receptor-defective variant cells indicate that the activation of cytochrome P1-450 gene transcription requires functional TCDD receptors. Analysis of the DNA that flanks the 5'-end of the mouse cytochrome P1-450 gene reveals at least three control regions: a promoter, an inhibitory element, and a dioxin-responsive element (DRE). Therefore, expression of the cytochrome P1-450 gene represents a balance between negative and positive control. The DRE contains two discrete, non-overlapping DNA domains that respond to TCDD. Each TCDD-responsive domain acts independently of the other, each requires TCDD receptors for function, and each has the properties of a transcriptional enhancer. For example, the function of the DREs is relatively independent of both their location and their orientation with respect to the promoter. Together, the DREs and the TCDD-receptor complex constitute a dioxin-responsive enhancer system. Exposure of cells to TCDD results in the protection of a specific DNA domain from exonuclease digestion. This protection requires TCDD receptors. The protected domain maps to a DRE. This observation implies that the TCDD-receptor complex interacts with the DRE to activate the transcription of the cytochrome P1-450 gene.

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