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Results for “Enhancer mapping”

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PubMed1991

The Escherichia coli mraY gene encoding UDP-N-acetylmuramoyl-pentapeptide: undecaprenyl-phosphate phospho-N-acetylmuramoyl-pentapeptide transferase.

Amplification of the mraY gene, previously called open reading frame Y (ORF-Y, 1,080 bp), at 2 min in the chromosome map of Escherichia coli enhanced the activity of UDP-N-acetylmuramoyl-pentapeptide: undecaprenyl-phosphate phospho-N-acetylmuramoyl-pentapeptide transferase (EC 2.7.8.13). This enzyme catalyzes the formation of undecaprenyl-pyrophosphoryl-N-acetylmuramoyl-pentapeptide from UDP-N-acetylmuramoyl-pentapeptide and undecaprenyl-phosphate, the first step in the lipid cycle reactions in biosynthesis of bacterial cell wall peptidoglycans. The enhanced enzyme activity was sensitive to tunicamycin, and the amino tunicamycin-sensitive N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphate transferase of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Very probably mraY is the structural gene for the above enzyme.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1990

Neutralization and enhancement of in vitro and in vivo HIV and simian immunodeficiency virus infections.

Over the past year significant progress has been made in mapping those regions of the HIV-1 envelope glycoproteins involved in virus neutralization and virus enhancement. These functional, antigenic domains of the gp160 are illustrated in Fig. 1. The role of neutralization in vaccine development is still unresolved, although high-titer antibody to the V3 loop of HIV-1 appears to be correlated with the ability to prevent HIV-1 infection by the homologous strain in chimpanzees. Therefore, the mechanism of type-specific neutralization of HIV appears to be clearly defined. The problem of group-specific neutralization of HIV-1 is still a mystery. Nevertheless, the finding that secondary structure is important for the generation of group-specific neutralizing mAbs and that carbohydrate is an important determinant for group-specific neutralization suggests that non-linear determinants are important. Answers to the question of group-specific neutralization should be available in the next few years. The role of HIV-1-enhancing antibodies in pathogenesis is not well understood. Nevertheless, the ability of patient serum to only enhance the patient's own isolate and not neutralize that isolate suggests that enhancing antibodies are important. Furthermore, the findings that enhancing antibody titers increase in SIV infection and peak immediately prior to the death of the animal suggests that such antibodies may play a role in SIV pathogenesis. With the identification and domain mapping of enhancing hu-mAbs, it should be possible to evaluate directly the role of enhancing domains in HIV and SIV pathogenesis by challenging animals in the presence of pure enhancing antibody. Only when these experiments are performed will it be possible to evaluate what role, if any, enhancing antibodies play in HIV pathogenesis. The above questions, when answered, are likely to provide important insights into lentivirus pathogenesis and help researchers to produce a safe and effective anti-HIV vaccine.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1995

Effect of haemorrhage on the power of low frequency blood pressure fluctuations in young spontaneously hypertensive rats.

1. Before the onset of hypertension low frequency (0.04-0.1 Hz) MAP fluctuations are reduced in SHR when compared to WKY. We studied the effect of haemorrhage under alpha1 blockade or angiotensin converting enzyme inhibition (CEI) on the power spectra (PS) of each strain. 2. MAP was recorded from the caudal artery in conscious, 1 month old SHR and WKY. Three groups of rats were studied. Group 1, acute 2 mL haemorrhage; groups 2 and 3, injection of prazosin (0.25-2.5 mg/kg) or captopril (0.5-4 mg/kg), followed by haemorrhage, as in group 1. The PS was divided into 3 frequency bands, 0.004-0.04, 0.04-0.07 and 0.07-0.1 Hz. 3. In SHR, although the baseline MAP levels were similar to those of WKY, the PS was significantly damped in each of the 3 frequency bands. 4. Haemorrhage induced a similar MAP fall in both strains accompanied by an increase in the slow MAP fluctuations. However, in SHR the PS response was significantly greater than in WKY. The biggest response was in the slowest (0.004-0.04 Hz) frequency band, 8.7 +/- 1.7 vs 1.5 +/- 0.4 times baseline levels, respectively. 5. The difference between the two strains in the PS response to haemorrhage was eliminated by alpha1 blockade. The exaggerated response observed in haemorrhaged, unblocked SHR was reduced in the 3 frequency bands. 6. Captopril reduced the PS response to haemorrhage in SHR to the level observed in WKY in all 3 frequency bands. 7. The enhanced amplification of the MAP fluctuations in haemorrhaged SHR may indicate that SHR requires greater recruitment of control mechanisms than WKY to maintain MAP at a similar level to WKY.

Adrenergic alpha-1 Receptor Agonists↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Passive avoidance training induces enhanced levels of immunoreactivity for muscarinic acetylcholine receptor and coexpressed PKC gamma and MAP-2 in rat cortical neurons.

Changes in neocortical immunoreactivity (ir) for muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs), protein kinase C gamma (PKC gamma), microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP-2), and the calcium-binding protein parvalbumin (PARV) induced by the performance of a one-trial passive shock avoidance (PSA) task were studied in young adult male Wistar rats. In experiment I, four groups of animals were formed: three control groups (N, naive; H, habituated but nonshocked; and S, habituated and shocked), and a fully trained group (T, habituated and shocked, followed by a retention trial 24 hr after the footshock). Compared to naive animals, the H, S, and T animals all revealed enhanced cortical ir for mAChRs, PKC gamma, and MAP-2 in discrete subsets of cortical neurons in layers 2, 3, and 5, while no changes were found for PARV. The neurons displaying enhanced levels of ir are of the pyramidal and nonpyramidal cell type and are arranged in a columnar manner. Immunofluorescent double-labeling experiments for mAChR, PKC gamma, and MAP-2 revealed that individual cortical neurons localized within the columns display enhanced ir for all three functionally related proteins. Compared to naive animals, all experimental groups revealed significant increases in the total size of cortical areas showing enhanced ir (H, S, and T over N). A further significant increase is found in animals receiving a footshock over nonshocked animals (S over H, respectively). The retention trial, however, did not induce a further increase (T over S). In some of the animals the patterns appeared to be lateralized, in either the left or right hemisphere. In order to test the role of cholinergic innervation in the induction of enhanced mAChR-ir, unilateral lesions of the nucleus basalis magnocellularis (nbm) were performed in experiment II. Apparently, an intact cholinergic innervation from the nbm is not required for the occurrence of the aforementioned columnar patterns. However, when the enhanced columnar patterns in the sensory areas of the cortex are cholinergically deprived, clear deficits in PSA performance are observed. These results indicate that although ACh is not a prerequisite for the induction of enhanced ir for mAChRs in cortical cells, such neurons demand cholinergic neurotransmission for optimal retention of the shock experience. The alterations in ir for coexpressed mAChR, PKC gamma, and MAP-2 in a discrete subset of cholinoceptive cortical neurons arranged in characteristic patterns most likely represent part of the neuronal substrate involved in functional cortical plasticity related to PSA training.

Acetylcholinesterase↗

PubMed1990

NF-kappa B: a family of inducible and differentially expressed enhancer-binding proteins in human T cells.

A sensitive DNA-protein crosslinking approach has been used to characterize four inducible T-cell proteins (50 kDa, 55 kDa, 75 kDa, and 85 kDa) that specifically bind to kappa B enhancer elements. Partial proteolytic mapping revealed a distinct cleavage pattern for three of these proteins. These polypeptides are sequestered as inactive precursors in the cytosol of unstimulated T cells but can be converted into active forms in vivo by phorbol ester stimulation or in vitro by detergent treatment. The induction of these proteins by phorbol ester results in a strikingly biphasic pattern of nuclear expression with the 55-kDa and 75-kDa species appearing within minutes, whereas the 50-kDa and 85-kDa species appear only several hours after cellular stimulation. These data suggest that NF-kappa B-binding activity may not correspond to a single polypeptide but rather a family of at least four inducible and differentially regulated DNA-binding proteins that are expressed with distinct kinetics in human T lymphocytes.

Base Sequence↗

PubMed2001

Innervation of the ring gland of Drosophila melanogaster.

In insects, peptidergic neurons of the central nervous system regulate the synthesis of the main developmental hormones. Neuropeptides involved in this neuroendocrine cascade have been identified in lepidopterans and dictyopterans. Since these organisms are not suitable for genetic research, we identified peptidergic brain neurons innervating the ring gland in Drosophila melanogaster. In larvae of Drosophila, ecdysteroids and juvenile hormones are produced by the ring gland, which is composed of the prothoracic gland, the corpus allatum, and the corpora cardiaca. Using the GAL4 enhancer trap system, we mapped those neurons of the central nervous system that innervate the ring gland. Eleven groups of neurosecretory neurons and their target tissues were identified. Five neurons of the lateral protocerebrum directly innervate the prothoracic gland or corpus allatum cells of the ring gland and are believed to regulate ecdysteroid and juvenile hormone titers. Axons of the circadian pacemaker neurons project onto dendritic fields of these five neurons. This connection might be the neuronal substrate of the circadian rhythms of molting and metamorphosis in Drosophila. Most of the neurons presented here have not been described before. The enhancer trap lines labeling them will be valuable tools for the analysis of neuronal as well as genetic regulation in insect development.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

Characterization of EZH1, a human homolog of Drosophila Enhancer of zeste near BRCA1.

Recent transcription mapping efforts within chromosome 17q21 have led to the identification of a human homolog of the Drosophila gene Enhancer of zeste, E(z). A member of the Polycomb group (Pc-G) of proteins, Drosophila E(z) acts as a negative regulator of the segment identity genes of the Antennapedia and Bithorax complexes. Here we report the full-length protein coding sequence of human EZH1 (Enhancer of zeste homolog 1) and compare the respective protein sequences in both species. EZH1 encodes a protein of 747 amino acids that displays 55% amino acid identity overall (70% similarity) with Drosophila E(z). The strongest homology was noted (79% identity, 89% similarity) within the carboxy-terminal 245 amino acids, including the SET domain, a region of E(z) also conserved in other Drosophila proteins with roles in development and/or chromatin structure. A large Cysrich region with a novel spatial pattern of cysteine residues was also conserved in both EZH1 and E(z). The strong sequence conservation suggest potential roles for EZH1 in human development as a transcriptional regulator and as a component of protein complexes that stably maintain heterochromatin. EZH1 is expressed as two major transcripts in all adult and fetal human tissues surveyed; comparison of cloned cDNAs suggests that alternative splicing may account for at least part of the transcript size difference. Analysis of one cDNA revealed an unusual splicing event involving EZH1 and a tandemly linked gene GPR2 and suggests a potential mechanism for modifying the EZH1 protein in the conserved C-terminal domain. The sequence and isolated cDNAs will provide useful reagents for determining the function of EZH1 and the importance of the evolutionarily conserved domains.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Probing tumor microvascularity by measurement, analysis and display of contrast agent uptake kinetics.

This paper describes a measurement protocol for acquiring quantitative dynamic MRI data and novel analysis and display software (Magnetic Resonance Imaging Workbench (MRIW)). Proton density-weighted and T1-weighted two-dimensional gradient echo images are used to quantify tissue contrast agent concentration. The dynamic studies last approximately 7 minutes, with 10-second temporal resolution. Analyses of signal and concentration changes with time are performed, allowing capillary permeability-surface area product, tissue leakage space, enhancement onset time, mean enhancement gradient and maximum enhancement level to be mapped as false-color parametric overlays registered with anatomic images. Quantification of permeability and leakage space provides a method for comparing physiology in patients between visits or for intersite comparisons.

Astrocytoma↗

PubMed1997

Activation of the receptor for advanced glycation end products triggers a p21(ras)-dependent mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway regulated by oxidant stress.

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) exert their cellular effects on cells by interacting with specific cellular receptors, the best characterized of which is the receptor for AGE (RAGE). The transductional processes by which RAGE ligation transmits signals to the nuclei of cells is unknown and was investigated. AGE-albumin, a prototypic ligand, activated p21(ras) in rat pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells that express RAGE, whereas nonglycated albumin was without effect. MAP kinase activity was enhanced at concentrations of AGE-albumin, which activated p21(ras) and NF-kappaB. Depletion of intracellular glutathione rendered cells more sensitive to AGE-mediated activation of this signaling pathway. In contrast, signaling was blocked by preventing p21(ras) from associating with the plasma membrane or mutating Cys118 on p21(ras) to Ser. Signaling was receptor-dependent, because it was prevented by blocking access to RAGE with either anti-RAGE IgG or by excess soluble RAGE. These data suggest that RAGE-mediated induction of cellular oxidant stress triggers a cascade of intracellular signals involving p21(ras) and MAP kinase, culminating in transcription factor activation. The molecular mechanism that triggers this pathway likely involves oxidant modification and activation of p21(ras).

Alkyl and Aryl Transferases↗

PubMed1988

Transcription and replication of human immunodeficiency virus-1 in B lymphocytes in vitro.

We and others have shown that HIV-1 transcription and replication in vitro are increased by the binding of transcriptional enhancer DNA sequences in the HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR) to a cellular protein designated Nuclear Factor-kappa B (NF-kappa B), a trans-acting transcription factor which is present in activated but not in resting T cells. Because NF-kappa B is also expressed in resting B cells we suggested that B cells might provide an optimal intracellular environment for HIV-1 transcription. Using a transient transfection assay, we show that the HIV-1 LTR is indeed more efficiently transcribed in the B cell line Raji than in the T cell line Jurkat, and that this effect maps to the transcriptional enhancer (NF-kappa B binding site) of the LTR. Furthermore, we show that Raji cells which have been rendered CD4-positive by gene transfection are susceptible to HIV-1 infection, and that viral gene expression and replication are more efficient in these CD4-positive B cells than in CD4-positive T cells. These findings demonstrate the crucial role of the transcriptional enhancer in regulating HIV-1 expression and, since receptors for HIV-1 are expressed by some Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive B cells, they also suggest that HIV-1 replication could occur in EBV-positive B cells in vivo.

Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte↗

PubMed2006

Microglial alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors drive a phospholipase C/IP3 pathway and modulate the cell activation toward a neuroprotective role.

Microglia perform both neuroprotective and neurotoxic functions in the brain, with this depending on their state of activation and their release of mediators. Upon P2X(7) receptor stimulation, for example, microglia release small amounts of TNF, which protect neurons, whereas LPS causes massive TNF release leading to neuroinflammation. Here we report that, in rat primary cultured microglia, nicotine enhances P2X(7) receptor-mediated TNF release, whilst suppressing LPS-induced TNF release but without affecting TNF mRNA expression via activation of alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (alpha7 nAChRs). In microglia, nicotine elicited a transient increase in intracellular Ca(2+) levels, which was abolished by specific blockers of alpha7 nAChRs. However, this response was independent of extracellular Ca(2+) and blocked by U73122, an inhibitor of phospholipase C (PLC), and xestospongin C, a blocker of the IP(3) receptor. Repeated experiments showed that currents were not detected in nicotine-stimulated microglia. Moreover, nicotine modulation of LPS-induced TNF release was also blocked by xestospongin C. Upon LPS stimulation, inhibition of TNF release by nicotine was associated with the suppression of JNK and p38 MAP kinase activation, which regulate the post-transcriptional steps of TNF synthesis. In contrast, nicotine did not alter any MAP kinase activation, but enhanced Ca(2+) response in P2X(7) receptor-activated microglia. In conclusion, microglial alpha7 nAChRs might drive a signaling process involving the activation of PLC and Ca(2+) release from intracellular Ca(2+) stores, rather than function as conventional ion channels. This novel alpha7 nAChR signal may be involved in the nicotine modification of microglia activation towards a neuroprotective role by suppressing the inflammatory state and strengthening the protective function.

Animals↗

PubMed1993

CNS midline enhancers of the Drosophila slit and Toll genes.

The Drosophila CNS midline cells comprise a small, well-characterized group of neurons and glia in which the transcriptional control of CNS development can be studied. Using germ-line transformation of lacZ fusion constructs, we have dissected putative regulatory regions of the slit and Toll genes to identify CNS midline-restricted transcriptional enhancers. This analysis has uncovered DNA regions able to drive lacZ expression in most tissues in which embryonic slit and Toll are expressed, including three separable CNS midline-conferring regions: one in the Toll gene which is expressed early in all of the CNS midline precursors, and two in the slit gene which are expressed later in the midline glia (MG).

Animals↗

PubMed2000

[Exploration of visual memory by functional MRI].

PURPOSE: The aim of our study was to evidence the location of the cortical area triggered by visual memory tasks by he mean of functional magnetic resonance imaging examination (fMRI). METHODS: Twelve healthy volunteers underwent fMRI examination on a 1.5 Tesla magnet with echoplanar imaging sequence during figurative and non-figurative memory tasks. An area was considered to be activated if at least 10 contiguous voxels activation was noted. Activated areas were defined for both tasks and the brain mapping was realized according to Talairach atlas. RESULTS: For all examinations a bilateral activity was evidenced (area 17 and 18). In addition, a frontal activation was also noted in 83% of the cases for both tasks. However, frontal activation was bilateral in 9/10 cases for the figurative task and 6/10 cases for the non-figurative task. CONCLUSION: FMRI was able to evidence activation of cerebral areas during visual memory tasks in all our study cases. Frontal activation was not discriminative of figurative or non figurative memory. This might be probably explain by inappropriate non-figurative tests. FMRI should allow a better knowledge of memory mechanisms as well as an enhancement of functional cerebral mapping before surgery.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

EEG-fMRI of focal epileptic spikes: analysis with multiple haemodynamic functions and comparison with gadolinium-enhanced MR angiograms.

Combined EEG-fMRI has recently been used to explore the BOLD responses to interictal epileptiform discharges. This study examines whether misspecification of the form of the haemodynamic response function (HRF) results in significant fMRI responses being missed in the statistical analysis. EEG-fMRI data from 31 patients with focal epilepsy were analysed with four HRFs peaking from 3 to 9 sec after each interictal event, in addition to a standard HRF that peaked after 5.4 sec. In four patients, fMRI responses were correlated with gadolinium-enhanced MR angiograms and with EEG data from intracranial electrodes. In an attempt to understand the absence of BOLD responses in a significant group of patients, the degree of signal loss occurring as a result of magnetic field inhomogeneities was compared with the detected fMRI responses in ten patients with temporal lobe spikes. Using multiple HRFs resulted in an increased percentage of data sets with significant fMRI activations, from 45% when using the standard HRF alone, to 62.5%. The standard HRF was good at detecting positive BOLD responses, but less appropriate for negative BOLD responses, the majority of which were more accurately modelled by an HRF that peaked later than the standard. Co-registration of statistical maps with gadolinium-enhanced MRIs suggested that the detected fMRI responses were not in general related to large veins. Signal loss in the temporal lobes seemed to be an important factor in 7 of 12 patients who did not show fMRI activations with any of the HRFs.

Artifacts↗

PubMed1994

The delayed glucocorticoid-responsive and hepatoma cell-selective enhancer of the rat arginase gene is located around intron 7.

Liver-selective transcription of the gene for rat arginase, an ornithine cycle (urea cycle) enzyme, is induced by glucocorticoids in a delayed secondary manner; the mRNA induction by the hormones requires de novo protein synthesis, and is preceded by a time lag of several hours. We searched for a DNA element mediating the glucocorticoid induction of the arginase gene with a transient transfection system using hepatoma cell lines. Within the 233-base pair region that is located 11 kilobases downstream from the transcription start site and that spans the junction of intron 7 and exon 8, we detected an enhancer element that is glucocorticoid-responsive and hepatoma cell-selective. The time course of the glucocorticoid induction through this enhancer element was delayed compared to that through the primary glucocorticoid-responsive mouse mammary tumor virus promoter. Footprint analysis revealed four protein-binding sites in this enhancer region. In gel retardation analysis, each site exhibited a complicated profile characterized by a number of shifted bands, some of which were tissue-selective and others ubiquitous. Gel shift competition and antibody supershift/inhibition analysis demonstrated that two of the four sites are recognized by members of the CCAAT/enhancer binding protein (C/EBP) family, some of which are liver-enriched.

Animals↗

PubMed1984

Stability of tubulin polymers formed with dideoxyguanosine nucleotides in the presence and absence of microtubule-associated proteins.

We have examined the effects of dilution, Ca2+, reduced temperature, and triphosphate depletion on microtubules formed from purified tubulin, heat-treated microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs), and either GTP, 2',3'-dideoxyguanosine 5'-diphosphate (ddGDP), or 2',3'-dideoxyguanosine 5'-triphosphate (ddGTP). The stability of the polymer formed with tubulin plus ddGTP without MAPs was also examined. In all cases dilution resulted in rapid depolymerization of polymer until a new turbidity plateau was established. These experiments yielded estimates of the critical concentration of tubulin of 0.09 mg/ml with GTP plus MAPs, 0.04 mg/ml with either ddGDP or ddGTP plus MAPs, and 0.07 mg/ml with ddGTP minus MAPs. Addition of CaCl2 to polymer resulted in depolymerization of microtubules formed with either GTP or ddGDP plus MAPs; but both with and without MAPs the polymer formed with ddGTP was stable to Ca2+. The polymer formed with ddGTP minus MAPs was the most cold-labile, major depolymerization occurring at 25 degrees C. With MAPs, microtubules were progressively less cold-labile when formed with GTP, ddGDP, or ddGTP. Depolymerization with GTP was virtually complete at 15 degrees C, with ddGDP at 5 degrees C, and with ddGTP at 0 degrees C. Rapid triphosphate depletion was achieved with phosphofructokinase. GTP-formed tubules were rapidly and completely depolymerized at all GTP concentrations after the enzyme was added to the reaction mixture. Both with and without MAPs polymer formed with ddGTP was progressively more stable upon enzyme addition the higher the initial ddGTP concentration. At specific ddGTP concentrations, however, less depolymerization was observed following enzyme addition if MAPs were present. Microtubules formed with ddGDP plus MAPs were unaffected by phosphofructokinase addition. This comparison of the properties of microtubules formed with MAPs and either ddGDP or ddGTP demonstrates that their stability is enhanced rather than reduced following nucleotide hydrolysis. The greater stability of microtubules formed with ddGTP plus MAPs than of the polymer formed with ddGTP minus MAPs similarly implies substantial enhancement of microtubule stability by the MAPs.

Animals↗

PubMed1993

Elk-1 proteins are phosphoproteins and activators of mitogen-activated protein kinase.

Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAP kinases) or meiosis-activated myelin basic protein kinase (p44mpk) are known to be activated by a mechanism involving dual phosphorylation at both tyrosine and serine/threonine in response to many extracellular stimuli. There has been considerable speculation as to whether MAP kinases are autophosphorylated and activated by an upstream protein kinase (MAP kinase kinase) or an activator of autophosphorylation or both. Here we report that the ets-related proteins elk-1 and delta elk-1 to be potential physiological substrates and activators of MAP kinases. Our results demonstrate for the first time that MAP kinase activators can also be non-kinase proteins that enhance the autophosphorylation and activation of MAP kinase. These findings could establish a general mechanism wherein specific MAP kinase activator protein(s) may function by interacting with MAP kinases ensuring a conformational change and stimulating their autophosphorylation and activation property. Our results also suggest that the amino-terminal truncated elk-1 proteins are better activators of MAP kinase than full length proteins indicating the presence of a potential negative regulatory region which may control the kinase activator function of elk-1 proteins. Our results suggest differential regulation of elk-1 and delta elk-1 proteins in fibroblasts stimulated by epidermal growth factor implicating a key role for these proteins in the signal transduction pathway. These results establish the presence of an alternative pathway for activation of MAP kinases. Thus we propose that elk-1 proteins may represent key intermediates which would transmit signals arriving at the surface of the cell from activated receptors to downstream MAP kinases in the cytoplasm to reach the transcriptional factors in the nucleus.

3T3 Cells↗

PubMed1992

mTFE3, an X-linked transcriptional activator containing basic helix-loop-helix and zipper domains, utilizes the zipper to stabilize both DNA binding and multimerization.

Southwestern (DNA-protein) screening of a murine L-cell cDNA library by using a probe for the microE3 site in the immunoglobulin heavy-chain enhancer yielded a clone, mTFE3, which is a member of the subset of basic helix-loop-helix (BHLH) proteins that also contain a leucine zipper (ZIP). Since the individual contribution of these domains is not well understood for proteins which contain them both, mutational analyses were performed to assess the functional roles of the HLH and ZIP regions for DNA binding and multimerization. The HLH region is stringently required for DNA binding but not for multimerization. The ZIP region is not stringently required for binding or multimerization, but stabilizes both multimer formation and DNA binding. A high degree of conservation at both the amino acid and nucleotide levels between the human transcription factor TFE3 and mTFE3 suggests that mTFE3 is the murine homolog of human TFE3. By using fluorescent in situ hybridization, mTFE3 was mapped to mouse chromosome X in band A2, which is just below the centromere. We show that in addition to the immunoglobulin heavy-chain microE3 site, mTFE3 binds to transcriptional elements important for lymphoid-specific, muscle-specific, and ubiquitously expressed genes. Binding of mTFE3 to DNA induces DNA bending.

Amino Acid Sequence↗