scholarly journals Enhancing enhancers: new complexities in the retinoid regulation of gene expression

2004 ◽  
Vol 383 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris P. F. REDFERN

Retinoic acid is a signalling molecule central to morphogenesis and musculoskeletal development. It can exist in several isomeric forms, of which all-trans- and 9-cis-retinoic acid are thought to be the most relevant as signalling molecules. Retinoic acid regulates gene expression via RARs (retinoic acid receptors) working as heterodimers with RXRs (retinoid X receptors). RXRs also heterodimerize with other nuclear receptors. In this issue of the Biochemical Journal, Harris et al. have shown that an enhancer responsible for chondrocyte-specific expression of the col11a2 gene is itself regulated by a retinoic-acid-dependent interaction with RXRβ bound to a downstream response element. Thus, RXRs bound to hormone-response elements can regulate gene expression indirectly via interactions with tissue-specific enhancers. This study raises interesting questions about the nature of the response element, the RXRβ partner and the ligands able to influence col11a2 expression, and will provide a model system with which to understand tissue and ligand specificity of retinoid responses.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Devanshi Patel ◽  
Xiaoling Zhang ◽  
John J. Farrell ◽  
Jaeyoon Chung ◽  
Thor D. Stein ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTBecause regulation of gene expression is heritable and context-dependent, we investigated AD-related gene expression patterns in cell-types in blood and brain. Cis-expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) mapping was performed genome-wide in blood from 5,257 Framingham Heart Study (FHS) participants and in brain donated by 475 Religious Orders Study/Memory & Aging Project (ROSMAP) participants. The association of gene expression with genotypes for all cis SNPs within 1Mb of genes was evaluated using linear regression models for unrelated subjects and linear mixed models for related subjects. Cell type-specific eQTL (ct-eQTL) models included an interaction term for expression of “proxy” genes that discriminate particular cell type. Ct-eQTL analysis identified 11,649 and 2,533 additional significant gene-SNP eQTL pairs in brain and blood, respectively, that were not detected in generic eQTL analysis. Of note, 386 unique target eGenes of significant eQTLs shared between blood and brain were enriched in apoptosis and Wnt signaling pathways. Five of these shared genes are established AD loci. The potential importance and relevance to AD of significant results in myeloid cell-types is supported by the observation that a large portion of GWS ct-eQTLs map within 1Mb of established AD loci and 58% (23/40) of the most significant eGenes in these eQTLs have previously been implicated in AD. This study identified cell-type specific expression patterns for established and potentially novel AD genes, found additional evidence for the role of myeloid cells in AD risk, and discovered potential novel blood and brain AD biomarkers that highlight the importance of cell-type specific analysis.


1997 ◽  
Vol 200 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Merzendorfer ◽  
R Gräf ◽  
M Huss ◽  
W R Harvey ◽  
H Wieczorek

Vacuolar-type ATPases (V-ATPases) are proton-translocating enzymes that occur in the endomembranes of all eukaryotes and in the plasma membranes of many eukaryotes. They are multisubunit, heteromeric proteins composed of two structural domains, a peripheral, catalytic V1 domain and a membrane-spanning V0 domain. Both the multitude of locations and the heteromultimeric structure make it likely that the expression and the activity of V-ATPases are regulated in various ways. Regulation of gene expression encompasses control of transcription as well as control at the post-transcriptional level. Regulation of enzyme activity encompasses many diverse mechanisms such as disassembly/reassembly of V1 and V0 domains, oxidation of SH groups, control by activator and inhibitor proteins or by small signalling molecules, and sorting of the holoenzyme or its subunits to target membranes.


1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 318-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Garcia-Villalba ◽  
A M Jimenez-Lara ◽  
A Aranda

The thyroid hormone, retinoic acid (RA), and vitamin D regulate gene expression by binding to similar receptors which act as ligand-inducible transcription factors. Incubation of pituitary GH4C1 cells with nanomolar concentrations of vitamin D markedly reduces the response of the rat growth hormone mRNA to thyroid hormone triiodothyronine (T3) and RA. The stimulation of growth hormone gene expression by both ligands is mediated by a common hormone response element (TREGH) present in the 5'-flanking region of the gene, and the inhibition caused by vitamin D is due to transcriptional interference of the vitamin D receptor on this DNA element. No inhibition of the basal promoter activity by the vitamin was observed. The response to T3 and RA of a heterologous promoter containing this element, the palindromic T3- and RA-responsive sequence TREPAL, or a direct repeat of the same motif is also inhibited by vitamin D. In contrast, vitamin D strongly induces the activity of constructs containing a vitamin D response element, and neither T3 nor RA reduces vitamin D-mediated transactivation. Transfection with an expression vector for the retinoid X receptor alpha (RXR alpha) increases transactivation by T3 and RA but does not abolish the inhibition caused by the vitamin. Gel retardation experiments show that the vitamin D receptor (VDR) as a heterodimer with RXR weakly binds to the T3- and RA-responsive elements. Additionally, VDR displaces binding of T3 and RA receptors in a dose-dependent manner. Our data suggest the formation of TR-VDR and RAR-VDR heterodimers with RXR. The fact that the same response element mediates opposite effects of at least four different nuclear receptors provides a greater complexity and flexibility of the transcriptional responses to their ligands.


Blood ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 89 (12) ◽  
pp. 4282-4289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenlin Shao ◽  
Laura Benedetti ◽  
William W. Lamph ◽  
Clara Nervi ◽  
Wilson H. Miller

Abstract The unique t(15; 17) of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) fuses the PML gene with the retinoic acid receptor α (RARα) gene. Although retinoic acid (RA) inhibits cell growth and induces differentiation in human APL cells, resistance to RA develops both in vitro and in patients. We have developed RA-resistant subclones of the human APL cell line, NB4, whose nuclear extracts display altered RA binding. In the RA-resistant subclone, R4, we find an absence of ligand binding of PML-RARα associated with a point mutation changing a leucine to proline in the ligand-binding domain of the fusion PML-RARα protein. In contrast to mutations in RARα found in retinoid-resistant HL60 cells, in this NB4 subclone, the coexpressed RARα remains wild-type. In vitro expression of a cloned PML-RARα with the observed mutation in R4 confirms that this amino acid change causes the loss of ligand binding, but the mutant PML-RARα protein retains the ability to heterodimerize with RXRα and thus to bind to retinoid response elements (RAREs). This leads to a dominant negative block of transcription from RAREs that is dose-dependent and not relieved by RA. An unrearranged RARα engineered with this mutation also lost ligand binding and inhibited transcription in a dominant negative manner. We then found that the mutant PML-RARα selectively alters regulation of gene expression in the R4 cell line. R4 cells have lost retinoid-regulation of RXRα and RARβ and the RA-induced loss of PML-RARα protein seen in NB4 cells, but retain retinoid-induction of CD18 and CD38. Thus, the R4 cell line provides data supporting the presence of an RARα-mediated pathway that is independent from gene expression induced or repressed by PML-RARα. The high level of retinoid resistance in vitro and in vivo of cells from some relapsed APL patients suggests similar molecular changes may occur clinically.


Endocrinology ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 148 (8) ◽  
pp. 3932-3940 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongyan Dong ◽  
Carole L. Yauk ◽  
Andrew Williams ◽  
Alice Lee ◽  
George R. Douglas ◽  
...  

The molecular mechanisms involved in the response of developing mice to disruptions in maternal thyroid hormone (TH) homeostasis are poorly characterized. We used DNA microarrays to examine a broad spectrum of genes from the livers of mice rendered hypothyroid by treating pregnant mice from gestational d 13 to postnatal d 15 with 6-propyl-2-thiouracil in drinking water. Twenty-four individuals (one male and one female pup from six litters of control or 6-propyl-2-thiouracil treatment groups, respectively) were profiled using Agilent oligonucleotide microarrays. MAANOVA identified 96 differentially expressed genes (false discovery rate adjusted P < 0.1 and fold change > 2 in at least one gender). Of these, 72 genes encode proteins of known function, 15 of which had previously been identified as regulated by TH. Pathway analysis revealed these genes are involved in metabolism, development, cell proliferation, apoptosis, and signal transduction. An immediate-early response gene, Nr4a1 (nuclear receptor subfamily 4, group A, member 1), was up-regulated by 3-fold in hypothyroid juvenile mouse liver; treatment of HepG2 cells with T3 resulted in down-regulation of Nr4a1. A potential thyroid response element −1218 to −1188 bp upstream of the promoter region of Nr4a1 was identified and demonstrated to bind TH receptor (TR)-α and TRβ. Point mutation or deletion of the sequence containing the potential Nr4a1-thyroid response element in transient gene expression studies resulted in both higher basal expression and loss of T3 regulatory capacity, suggesting that this site is responsible for the negative regulation of gene expression by TR and TH.


2010 ◽  
Vol 365 (1552) ◽  
pp. 2581-2590 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. Emerson ◽  
Wen-Hsiung Li

The regulation of gene expression is an important determinant of organismal phenotype and evolution. However, the widespread recognition of this fact occurred long after the synthesis of evolution and genetics. Here, we give a brief sketch of thoughts regarding gene regulation in the history of evolution and genetics. We then review the development of genome-wide studies of gene regulatory variation in the context of the location and mode of action of the causative genetic changes. In particular, we review mapping of the genetic basis of expression variation through expression quantitative trait locus studies and measuring the cis / trans component of expression variation in allele-specific expression studies. We conclude by proposing a systematic integration of ideas that combines global mapping studies, cis / trans tests and modern population genetics methodologies, in order to directly estimate the forces acting on regulatory variation within and between species.


Endocrinology ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 149 (9) ◽  
pp. 4346-4356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masato Aoyama ◽  
Tsuyoshi Kawada ◽  
Manabu Fujie ◽  
Kohji Hotta ◽  
Tsubasa Sakai ◽  
...  

Tachykinins (TKs) and their receptors have been shown to be expressed in the mammalian ovary. However, the biological roles of ovarian TKs have yet to be verified. Ci-TK-I and Ci-TK-R, characterized from the protochordate (ascidian), Ciona intestinalis, are prototypes of vertebrate TKs and their receptors. In the present study, we show a novel biological function of TKs as an inducible factor for oocyte growth using C. intestinalis as a model organism. Immunostaining demonstrated the specific expression of Ci-TK-R in test cells residing in oocytes at the vitellogenic stage. DNA microarray and real-time PCR revealed that Ci-TK-I induced gene expression of several proteases, including cathepsin D, chymotrypsin, and carboxy-peptidase B1, in the ovary. The enzymatic activities of these proteases in the ovary were also shown to be enhanced by Ci-TK-I. Of particular significance is that the treatment of Ciona oocytes with Ci-TK-I resulted in progression of growth from the vitellogenic stage to the post-vitellogenic stage. The Ci-TK-I-induced oocyte growth was blocked by a TK antagonist or by protease inhibitors. These results led to the conclusion that Ci-TK-I enhances growth of the vitellogenic oocytes via up-regulation of gene expression and enzymatic activities of the proteases. This is the first clarification of the biological roles of TKs in the ovary and the underlying essential molecular mechanism. Furthermore, considering the phylogenetic position of ascidians as basal chordates, we suggest that the novel TK-regulated oocyte growth is an “evolutionary origin” of the tachykininergic functions in the ovary.


eLife ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoë A Hilbert ◽  
Dennis H Kim

Animal behavior is directed by the integration of sensory information from internal states and the environment. Neuroendocrine regulation of diverse behaviors of Caenorhabditis elegans is under the control of the DAF-7/TGF-β ligand that is secreted from sensory neurons. Here, we show that C. elegans males exhibit an altered, male-specific expression pattern of daf-7 in the ASJ sensory neuron pair with the onset of reproductive maturity, which functions to promote male-specific mate-searching behavior. Molecular genetic analysis of the switch-like regulation of daf-7 expression in the ASJ neuron pair reveals a hierarchy of regulation among multiple inputs—sex, age, nutritional status, and microbial environment—which function in the modulation of behavior. Our results suggest that regulation of gene expression in sensory neurons can function in the integration of a wide array of sensory information and facilitate decision-making behaviors in C. elegans.


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