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At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

A novel enhancer, the pro-B enhancer, regulates Id1 gene expression in progenitor B cells.

The helix-loop-helix (HLH) Id proteins have been reported to function as inhibitors of various differentiation programs. The HLH motif mediates dimer formation between Id and the basic HLH transcription factors. Since Id proteins lack the basic region responsible for DNA binding, the heterodimers cannot bind to DNA. Id proteins have also been found to be involved in early B-cell differentiation. They are expressed at high levels in progenitor B cells (pro-B cells), and the expression is diminished in pre-B cells and mature B cells. This expression pattern correlates inversely with basic HLH protein activity and immunoglobulin enhancer function in B-cell development. Regulation of Id expression may play an important role in transcriptional control of immunoglobulin genes and therefore in B-cell differentiation. We have characterized the regulatory elements of the Id1 gene. Using stable transfectants, transient transfection, and mobility shift assays, we have identified an 8-bp element designated PBE (pro-B enhancer) downstream of the Id1 gene that is responsible for a pro-B-cell-specific enhancer activity. A pro-B-cell-specific protein complex was found to bind to the 8-bp PBE element. Substitution mutagenesis at this binding site showed that it is indeed of functional importance in regulating the pro-B-cell-specific expression of the Id1 gene.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

A novel type of splicing enhancer regulating adenovirus pre-mRNA splicing.

Splicing of the adenovirus IIIa pre-mRNA is subjected to a temporal regulation, such that efficient IIIa 3' splice site usage is confined to the late phase of the infectious cycle. Here we show that IIIa pre-mRNA splicing is activated more than 200-fold in nuclear extracts prepared from late adenovirus-infected cells (Ad-NE) compared to uninfected HeLa cell nuclear extracts (HeLa-NE). In contrast, splicing of the beta-globin pre-mRNA is repressed in Ad-NE. We constructed hybrid pre-mRNAs between IIIa and beta-globin in order to identify the minimal IIIa sequence element conferring enhanced splicing in Ad-NE. Using this approach, we show that the IIIa branch site/pyrimidine tract functions as a Janus element: it blocks splicing in HeLa-NE and functions as a splicing enhancer in Ad-NE. Therefore, we named this sequence the IIIa virus infection-dependent splicing enhancer (3VDE). This element is essential for regulated IIIa pre-mRNA splicing in Ad-NE and sufficient to confer an enhanced splicing phenotype to the beta-globin pre-mRNA in Ad-NE. We further show that the increase in IIIa splicing observed in Ad-NE is not accompanied by a similar increase in U2AF binding to the IIIa pyrimidine tract. This finding suggests that splicing activation by the 3VDE may operate without efficient U2AF interaction with the pre-mRNA. Importantly, this report represents the first description of a splicing enhancer that has evolved to function selectively in the context of a virus infection, a finding that adds a new level at which viruses may subvert the host cell RNA biosynthetic machinery to facilitate their own replication.

Adenoviridae↗
PubMed2005

[Construction and expression of recombinant plasmid with prostate-specific membrane antigen promoter and enhancer regulating uracil phosphoribosyltransferase gene].

OBJECTIVE: To construct the recombinant expression plasmid pPSMA(EP)-UPRT including UPRT gene that is regulated by PSMA(enhancer/promoter). METHODS: By use of PCR, UPRT gene was amplified from E. coli JM109 genome. Then UPRT gene was cloned into the recombinant expression plasmid pPSMA(enhancer/promoter)-EGFP that is driven by prostate-specific membrane antigen promoter and enhancer. RESULTS: It was found that EGFP was digested by two restriction enzymes from the recombinant expression plasmid pPSMA(enhancer/promoter)-EGFP, and UPRT gene was linked with the recombinant expression plasmid by T4 DNA ligase. We succeeded in constructing the recombinant expression plasmid pPSMA(enhancer/promoter)-UPRT. The recombinant plasmid sequences were verified, and the expression in vitro was measured by MTT. CONCLUSION: The recombinant expression plasmid pPSMA(enhancer/promoter)-UPRT is regulated targetly by prostate-specific membrane antigen promoter and enhancer. It is, of importance to us in studying the UPRT/5-FU for gene therapy of prostate cancer, especially suicide gene therapy (CD/5-FC system).

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed2000

A duodenum-specific enhancer regulates expression along three axes in the small intestine.

Adenosine deaminase (ADA) is expressed at high levels in the epithelium of proximal small intestine. Transgenic mice were used to characterize the regulatory region governing this activation. A duodenum-specific enhancer is located in intron 2 of the human ADA gene at the central site among a cluster of seven DNase I-hypersensitive sites present in duodenal DNA. Flanking DNA, including the remaining hypersensitive sites, is required for consistent high-level enhancer function. The enhancer activates expression in a pattern identical to endogenous ADA along both the anterior-posterior axis of the small intestine and the crypt-villus differentiation axis of the intestinal epithelium. Timing of activation by the central enhancer mimics endogenous mouse ADA activation, occurring at 2-3 wk of age. However, two upstream DNA segments, one proximal and one distal, collaborate to change enhancer activation to a perinatal time point. Studies with duodenal nuclear extracts identified five distinct DNase I footprints within the enhancer. Protected regions encompass six putative binding sites for the transcription factor PDX-1, as well as proposed CDX, hepatocyte nuclear factor-4, and GATA-type sites.

Adenosine Deaminase↗
PubMed1991

Protein kinase C down-regulation enhances cAMP-mediated induction of urokinase-type plasminogen activator mRNA in LLC-PK1 cells.

Expression of the urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) gene in LLC-PK1 cells can be induced by signals mediated by both cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) and Ca(2+)- and phospholipid-dependent protein kinase (PKC). We have utilized the tumor promoter 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA) to down-regulate PKC, in order to test for an effect on the PKA-mediated induction of the uPA gene expression. Incubation of cells for 24 h with 100 ng/ml TPA caused a marked decrease of PKC protein, both in cytosolic and particulate fractions, and an 85% reduction of total PKC activity. After down-regulation of PKC, uPA mRNA accumulation induced by 8-Br-cAMP was 5-10-fold higher than in control cells. Both uPA mRNA stability and uPA gene transcription rates induced by 8-Br-cAMP were increased by PKC down-regulation (6- and 1.8-fold, respectively). Although total PKA activity was reduced by 20% in extracts from PKC-depleted cells, activation of PKA by 8-Br-cAMP was 2.5-fold higher than in control cells. This enhanced activation of PKA in PKC-depleted cells also occurred in response to other cAMP derivatives and to cAMP induced endogenously by the activation of adenylate cyclase with forskolin, but was not due to down-regulation-associated changes in the rate of cAMP synthesis. Our results demonstrate that in LLC-PK1 cells, down-regulation of PKC results in an enhanced induction of uPA gene expression by cAMP-mediated signals without alterations in adenylate cyclase activity, suggesting a mechanism distal to adenylate cyclase.

1-Methyl-3-isobutylxanthine↗
PubMed1998

Tumor necrosis factor alpha gene regulation: enhancement of C/EBPbeta-induced activation by c-Jun.

Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) is a key regulatory cytokine whose expression is controlled by a complex set of stimuli in a variety of cell types. Previously, we found that the monocyte/macrophage-enriched nuclear transcription factor C/EBPbeta played an important role in the regulation of the TNF alpha gene in myelomonocytic cells. Abundant evidence suggests that other transcription factors participate as well. Here we have analyzed interactions between C/EBPbeta and c-Jun, a component of the ubiquitously expressed AP-1 complex. In phorbol myristate acetate (PMA)-treated Jurkat T cells, which did not possess endogenous C/EBPbeta, expression of c-Jun by itself had relatively little effect on TNF alpha promoter activity. However, the combination of C/EBPbeta and c-Jun was synergistic, resulting in greater than 130-fold activation. This effect required both the leucine zipper and DNA binding domains, but not the transactivation domain, of c-Jun, plus the AP-1 binding site centered 102/103 bp upstream of the transcription start site in the TNF alpha promoter. To determine if C/EBPbeta and c-Jun might cooperate to regulate the cellular TNF alpha gene in myelomonocytic cells, U937 cells that possess endogenous C/EBPbeta and were stably transfected with either wild-type c-Jun or the transactivation domain deletion mutant (TAM-67) were examined. U937 cells expressing ectopic wild-type c-Jun or TAM-67 secreted over threefold more TNF alpha than the control line in response to PMA plus lipopolysaccharide. Transient transfection of the U937 cells expressing TAM-67 suggested that TAM-67 binding to the -106/-99-bp AP-1 binding site cooperated with endogenous C/EBPbeta in the activation of the -120 TNF alpha promoter-reporter. DNA binding assays using oligonucleotides derived from the TNF alpha promoter suggested that C/EBPbeta and c-Jun interact in vitro and that the interaction may be DNA dependent. Our data demonstrate that the TNF alpha gene is regulated by the interaction of the ubiquitous AP-1 complex protein c-Jun and the monocyte/macrophage-enriched transcription factor C/EBPbeta and that this interaction contributes to the expression of the cellular TNF alpha gene in myelomonocytic cells. This interaction was unique in that it did not require the c-Jun transactivation domain, providing new insight into the cell-type-specific regulation of the TNF alpha gene.

CCAAT-Enhancer-Binding Proteins↗
PubMed2002

Distinct enhancers regulate skeletal and cardiac muscle-specific expression programs of the cardiac alpha-actin gene in Xenopus embryos.

During vertebrate embryonic development, cardiac and skeletal muscle originates from distinct precursor populations. Despite the profound structural and functional differences in the striated muscle tissue they eventually form, such progenitors share many features such as components of contractile apparatus. In vertebrate embryos, the alpha-cardiac actin gene encodes a major component of the myofibril in both skeletal and cardiac muscle. Here, we show that expression of Xenopus cardiac alpha-actin in the myotomes and developing heart tube of the tadpole requires distinct enhancers within its proximal promoter. Using transgenic embryos, we find that mutations in the promoter-proximal CArG box and 5 bp downstream of it specifically eliminate expression of a GFP transgene within the developing heart, while high levels of expression in somitic muscle are maintained. This sequence is insufficient on its own to limit expression solely to the myocardium, such restriction requiring multiple elements within the proximal promoter. Two additional enhancers are active in skeletal muscle of the embryo, either one of which has to interact with the proximal CArG box for correct expression to be established. Transgenic reporters containing multimerised copies of CArG box 1 faithfully detect most sites of SRF expression in the developing embryo as do equivalent reporters containing the SRF binding site from the c-fos promoter. Significantly, while these motifs possess a different A/T core within the CC(A/T)(6)GG consensus and show no similarity in flanking sequence, each can interact with a myotome-specific distal enhancer of cardiac alpha-actin promoter, to confer appropriate cardiac alpha-actin-specific regulation of transgene expression. Together, these results suggest that the role of CArG box 1 in the cardiac alpha-actin gene promoter is to act solely as a high-affinity SRF binding site.

Actins↗
PubMed2005

Identification of an epithelial-specific enhancer regulating ESX expression.

The Ets transcription factor, ESX, exhibits a unique pattern of epithelial-restricted expression and transactivates genes involved in epithelial differentiation and cancer. The aim of this study was to determine the underlying genetic basis for epithelial-specific expression of ESX. We have identified a 30bp ESX enhancer sequence (EES) approximately 3 kb upstream of the proximal promoter. This region displays enhancer activity in an epithelial-specific manner and deletion of this region abrogates ESX gene transcription. An EES binding protein complex (EBC) was identified through electrophoretic mobility shift assays whose degree of EES binding correlated well with endogenous ESX levels in epithelial cells and was regulated by epithelial differentiation. Understanding the regulation of this element will lend insight into mechanisms of epithelial differentiation and the etiology of breast cancer and may provide novel targets for cancer therapeutic intervention.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1995

A novel smooth muscle-specific enhancer regulates transcription of the smooth muscle myosin heavy chain gene in vascular smooth muscle cells.

Transient DNA transfection analysis of 5' end deletion mutants of the rabbit smooth muscle myosin heavy chain (SMHC) gene promoter was performed in primary cultures of rabbit vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC). A positive element located at position -1,332 upstream of the transcription start site consistently gave the highest relative chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) activity (6.3 +/- 1.5-fold over the minimal SMHC promoter), suggesting that inclusion of the extra 107-base pair (bp) DNA fragment between -1,332 and -1,225 could significantly enhance CAT activity in VSMC. Transfection of mutants into several muscle and nonmuscle cell lines did not show any significant CAT activity above control, showing that factors unique to smooth muscle cells were required for SMHC expression. Gel shift analysis indicated that multiple factors interacted with the 107-bp element, two of which appeared to show smooth muscle specificity. Tests of enhancer function in transfected VSMC indicated that the 107-bp fragment behaved as a classical enhancer, i.e. independently of position and orientation. These results indicate that a novel DNA element may regulate the tissue-restricted expression of the SMHC gene and provides the first example of a role for a smooth muscle-specific enhancer in VSMC.

3T3 Cells↗
PubMed2004

Conserved POU binding DNA sites in the Sox2 upstream enhancer regulate gene expression in embryonic and neural stem cells.

The Sox2 transcription factor is expressed early in the stem cells of the blastocyst inner cell mass and, later, in neural stem cells. We previously identified a Sox2 5'-regulatory region directing transgene expression to the inner cell mass and, later, to neural stem cells and precursors of the forebrain. Here, we identify a core enhancer element able to specify transgene expression in forebrain neural precursors of mouse embryos, and we show that the same core element efficiently activates transcription in inner cell mass-derived embryonic stem (ES) cells. Mutation of POU factor binding sites, able to recognize the neural factors Brn1 and Brn2, shows that these sites contribute to transgene activity in neural cells. The same sites are also essential for activity in ES cells, where they bind different members of the POU family, including Oct4, as shown by gel shift assays and chromatin immunoprecipitation with anti-Oct4 antibodies. Our findings indicate a role for the same POU binding motifs in Sox2 transgene regulation in both ES and neural precursor cells. Oct4 might play a role in the regulation of Sox2 in ES (inner cell mass) cells and, possibly, at the transition between inner cell mass and neural cells, before recruitment of neural POU factors such as Brn1 and Brn2.

5' Flanking Region↗
PubMed1994

An upstream enhancer regulating brown-fat-specific expression of the mitochondrial uncoupling protein gene.

Previous studies on the regulation of a Ucp minigene in transgenic mice demonstrated that the sequences necessary for brown-fat-specific expression and inducibility by norepinephrine were located in the 5' flanking region between 1 and 2.8 kb from the transcriptional start site. We have investigated this region in more detail in cultured mouse brown adipocyte tumor cells. Deletion analysis of two types of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter gene constructs under control of either the Ucp promoter or a heterologous herpes simplex virus-tk promoter defined an enhancer in a 220-bp HindIII-XbaI fragment which was essential for both brown fat specificity and norepinephrine inducibility. Site-directed mutagenesis of the reporter gene constructs established that independent mutations to a cyclic AMP-responsive element (CRE-2) or one of two TTCC motifs (BRE [brown fat regulatory element]), all within 17 bp, eliminated transient expression. Competitive DNA mobility shift assays with probes of the CRE and BRE motifs indicate that nuclear proteins interact with these motifs in a cooperative, synergistic manner. While these CRE-BRE probes do not show changes in binding which is dependent on norepinephrine treatment, a probe containing a third TTCC motif located 130 bp downstream of BRE-1 does show this dependency. The results indicate that a complex interaction of the CRE and BRE motifs, which cannot be functionally separated, control Ucp expression.

Adipose Tissue, Brown↗
PubMed1996

Muscle-specific splicing enhancers regulate inclusion of the cardiac troponin T alternative exon in embryonic skeletal muscle.

The alternative exon 5 of the striated muscle-specific cardiac troponin T (cTNT) gene is included in mRNA from embryonic skeletal and cardiac muscle and excluded in mRNA from the adult. The embryonic splicing pattern is reproduced in primary skeletal muscle cultures for both the endogenous gene and transiently transfected minigenes, whereas in nonmuscle cell lines, minigenes express a default exon skipping pattern. Using this experimental system, we previously showed that a purine-rich splicing enhancer in the alternative exon functions as a constitutive splicing element but not as a target for factors regulating cell-specific splicing. In this study, we identify four intron elements, one located upstream,and three located downstream of the alternative exon, which act in a positive manner to mediate the embryonic splicing pattern of exon inclusion. Synergistic interactions between at least three of the four elements are necessary and sufficient to regulate splicing of a heterologous alternative exon and heterologous splice sites. Mutations in these elements prevent activation of exon inclusion in muscle cells but do not affect the default level of exon inclusion in nonmuscle cells. Therefore, these elements function as muscle-specific splicing enhancers (MSEs) and are the first muscle-specific positive-acting splicing elements to be described. One MSE located downstream from the alternative exon is conserved in the rat and chicken cTNT genes. A related sequence is found in a third muscle-specific gene, that encoding skeletal troponin T, downstream from an alternative exon with a developmental pattern of alternative splicing similar to that of rat and chicken cTNT. Therefore, the MSEs identified in the cTNT gene may play a role in developmentally regulated alternative splicing in a number of different genes.

Alternative Splicing↗
PubMed2005

An intronic enhancer regulates cyclooxygenase-1 gene expression.

To identify cis-elements regulating PMA-induced prostaglandin H synthase-1 (PGHS-1) gene expression in the human megakaryoblast cell line, MEG-01, we performed promoter reporter assays with a luciferase reporter vector containing the -2030/-22 region of the human PGHS-1 gene. PMA treatment for 24 h increased PGHS-1 promoter activity by twofold. Mutagenesis studies of the promoter revealed a single Sp1 site essential for PMA-inducible transcription. Insertion of a highly conserved 100 bp sequence cloned from intron 8 into the -2030/-22 reporter plasmid enhanced PMA-dependent transcription 10-fold. Mutation of either a consensus AP-1 site within intron 8 or the Sp1 site in the promoter reduced PMA-induced activity by 80-100%. Gel shift assays using the intron 8 AP-1 sequence demonstrated the formation of an AP-1-specific DNA-protein complex. Our results suggest that inducible PGHS-1 gene expression involves the coordinate functioning of a Sp1 site in the promoter and an AP-1 site in intron 8.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

A long-range Shh enhancer regulates expression in the developing limb and fin and is associated with preaxial polydactyly.

Unequivocal identification of the full composition of a gene is made difficult by the cryptic nature of regulatory elements. Regulatory elements are notoriously difficult to locate and may reside at considerable distances from the transcription units on which they operate and, moreover, may be incorporated into the structure of neighbouring genes. The importance of regulatory mutations as the basis of human abnormalities remains obscure. Here, we show that the chromosome 7q36 associated preaxial polydactyly, a frequently observed congenital limb malformation, results from point mutations in a Shh regulatory element. Shh, normally expressed in the ZPA posteriorly in the limb bud, is expressed in an additional ectopic site at the anterior margin in mouse models of PPD. Our investigations into the basis of the ectopic Shh expression identified the enhancer element that drives normal Shh expression in the ZPA. The regulator, designated ZRS, lies within intron 5 of the Lmbr1 gene 1 Mb from the target gene Shh. The ZRS drives the early spatio-temporal expression pattern in the limb of tetrapods. Despite the morphological differences between limbs and fins, an equivalent regulatory element is found in fish. The ZRS contains point mutations that segregate with polydactyly in four unrelated families with PPD and in the Hx mouse mutant. Thus point mutations residing in long-range regulatory elements are capable of causing congenital abnormalities, and possess the capacity to modify gene activity such that a novel gamut of abnormalities is detected.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

An intronic enhancer regulates splicing of the twintron of Drosophila melanogaster prospero pre-mRNA by two different spliceosomes.

We have examined the alternative splicing of the Drosophila melanogaster prospero twintron, which contains splice sites for both the U2- and U12-type spliceosome and generates two forms of mRNA, pros-L (U2-type product) and pros-S (U12-type product). We find that twintron splicing is developmentally regulated: pros-L is abundant in early embryogenesis while pros-S displays the opposite pattern. We have established a Kc cell in vitro splicing system that accurately splices a minimal pros substrate containing the twintron and have examined the sequence requirements for pros twintron splicing. Systematic deletion and mutation analysis of intron sequences established that twintron splicing requires a 46-nucleotide purine-rich element located 32 nucleotides downstream of the U2-type 5' splice site. While this element regulates both splicing pathways, its alteration showed the severest effects on the U2-type splicing pathway. Addition of an RNA competitor containing the wild-type purine-rich element to the Kc extract abolished U2-type splicing and slightly repressed U12-type splicing, suggesting that a trans-acting factor(s) binds the enhancer element to stimulate twintron splicing. Thus, we have identified an intron region critical for prospero twintron splicing as a first step towards elucidating the molecular mechanism of splicing regulation involving competition between the two kinds of spliceosomes.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

A sequence conserved in vertebrate Hox gene introns functions as an enhancer regulated by posterior homeotic genes in Drosophila imaginal discs.

The intron of the mouse Hoxa-4 gene acts as a strong homeotic response element in Drosophila melanogaster leg imaginal discs. This activity depends on homeodomain binding sites present within a 30 bp conserved element, HB1, in the intron. A similar arrangement of homeodomain binding sites is found in many other potential homeotic target genes. HB1 activity in Drosophila imaginal discs is activated by Antennapedia and more posterior homeotic genes, but is not activated by more anterior genes. Testing a reporter gene construct with mutated binding sites in mouse embryos shows that HB1 is also active in the expression domains of posterior Hox genes in the mouse neural tube.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Hemoprotein Bach1 regulates enhancer availability of heme oxygenase-1 gene.

Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) protects cells from various insults including oxidative stress. Transcriptional activators, including the Nrf2/Maf heterodimer, have been the focus of studies on the inducible expression of ho-1. Here we show that a heme-binding factor, Bach1, is a critical physiological repressor of ho-1. Bach1 bound to the multiple Maf recognition elements (MAREs) of ho-1 enhancers with MafK in vitro and repressed their activity in vivo, while heme abrogated this repressor function of Bach1 by inhibiting its binding to the ho-1 enhancers. Gene targeting experiments in mice revealed that, in the absence of Bach1, ho-1 became expressed constitutively at high levels in various tissues under normal physiological conditions. By analyzing bach1/nrf2 compound-deficient mice, we documented antagonistic activities of Bach1 and Nrf2 in several tissues. Chromatin immunoprecipitation revealed that small Maf proteins participate in both repression and activation of ho-1. Thus, regulation of ho-1 involves a direct sensing of heme levels by Bach1 (by analogy to lac repressor sensitivity to lactose), generating a simple feedback loop whereby the substrate effects repressor-activator antagonism.

3T3 Cells↗