Protein-protein interactions facilitate DNA binding by the glucocorticoid receptor DNA-binding domain

We have studied the interaction of the DNA-binding domain of the glucocorticoid receptor with a glucocorticoid response element from the tyrosine aminotransferase gene. This response element consists of two binding sites (half-sites) for the glucocorticoid receptor DNA-binding domain. The sequences of these two half-sites are not identical, and we have previously shown that binding occurs preferentially to one of the half-sites (Tsai, S.-Y., Carlstedt-Duke, J., Weigel, N. L., Dahlman, K., Gustafsson, J.-A., Tsai, M.-J., and O'Malley, B. W. (1988) Cell 55, 361-369). We show here that binding to the low affinity half-site is dependent on previous occupancy of the high affinity half-site. This facilitated binding is dependent on the distance between the two half-sites and their relative orientation but is not dependent on the integrity of the DNA backbone. This is consistent with a model where DNA binding is not only dependent on interactions between the protein and its DNA target sequence but is also influenced by interactions between the protein molecules bound.     

Expression of the avian c-erb B (EGF receptor) protooncogene during estrogen-promoted oviduct growth

Expression of cellular erb B protooncogene messenger RNAs has been analyzed in the oviducts of immature chicks during estrogen-promoted growth. Hybridization of oviduct total cellular RNA with viral-derived erb B oncogene probes demonstrated significant expression of c-erb B mRNA in oviduct cells of untreated chicks. Daily administration of estrogen (diethylstilbestrol) to chicks results in marked oviduct growth but did not appreciably affect expression levels of c-erb B messenger RNA in oviducts after 2, 4 or 6 days of treatment. Withdrawal of chicks from estrogen treatment resulted in termination of oviduct growth. However, c-erb B messenger RNAs were detectable in the nonproliferative tissue at 5 days after hormone withdrawal. Readministration of diethylstilbestrol, progesterone or diethylstilbestrol plus progesterone to hormone-withdrawn birds (secondary stimulation) also did not affect c-erb B messenger RNA levels in the oviduct. These results demonstrate significant expression of the cellular erb B (epidermal growth factor receptor) gene in the avian oviduct. However, EGF receptor messenger RNA synthesis is not modulated in the oviduct by steroid hormones.     

Testosterone binding in the chick oviduct

A novel androgen receptor was observed in estrogen-stimulated chick oviducts but not in unstimulated oviducts. This binding component showed a preference for androgens and could therefore be distinguished from oviduct receptors for estadiol and progesterone. Testosterone was tightly bound having a dissociation constant (Kd) of 2.7 × 10^?10 M. Sucrose gradient centrifugation, under low ionic strength conditions, showed testosterone to be bound as an 85 complex. These binding properties, plus the estrogen dependency of this component, suggest its role as a biological receptor for androgens.     

Alterations of DNA-dependent DNA polymerase activities in the immature quail oviduct in response to estrogen stimulation.

Administration of diethylstilbestrol, an estrogen analogue, to immature female quails causes an increase of extractable DNA-dependent DNA polymerase activities from the oviduct. At least two forms of polymerases have been determined, a high molecular weight polymerase (210,000 daltons) and a low molecular weight polymerase (34,000 daltons) calculated from column chromatography Sephadex G-200. During the primary hormone stimulation the amount of extractable enzyme reaches a maximum on the fifth day after daily injections of the hormone. In the period of withdrawal the activities decrease and reach values similar to those determined in the unstimulated oviducts. During secondary stimulation the polymerase activities increase again the first day; subsequently the values decrease drastically. The alterations in enzyme activity correlate with the DNA synthesis in the oviduct, as measured by analytical determination of the DNA content.     

Immunologic detection of a protein homologous to chicken progesterone receptor B subunit

A monoclonal antibody described previously by us (Edwards, D. P., Weigel, N. L., Schrader, W. T., O'Malley, B. W., and McGuire, W. L. (1984) Biochemistry 23, 4427-4435) was used to study progesterone receptor B subunits of chick and hen oviduct. We find that the antibody does not recognize the form of receptor B able to bind [3H]progesterone in vitro. Rather, it reacts exclusively with a homologous protein of the same molecular weight, termed B antigen. The antigen is present in both immature estrogen-treated chicks and in egg-laying hens. This antigen is indistinguishable from the hormone-binding receptor species (termed receptor B) as shown by peptide mapping techniques using either Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease or trypsin. The B antigen and the hormone binder can be resolved by ion-exchange chromatography. Sedimentation velocity data show that the two proteins are present in distinct, separable cytosolic entities. The functional relationship between the two proteins has not been established.     

Retinoic acid receptor belongs to a subclass of nuclear receptors that do not form "docking" complexes with hsp90.

We have recently reported that, in contrast to the glucocorticoid receptor, the thyroid hormone receptor does not bind to hsp90 when the receptor is translated in rabbit reticulocyte lysate [Dalman, F. C., Koenig, R. J., Perdew, G. H., Massa, E., & Pratt, W. B. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 3615-3618]. All of the steroid receptors that are known to bind hsp90 are recovered in the cytosolic fraction when hormone-free cells are ruptured in hypotonic buffer. In contrast, unliganded thyroid hormone receptors and retinoic acid receptors are tightly associated with nuclear components. In this paper, we translated the human estrogen receptor and the human retinoic acid receptor in reticulocyte lysate and then immunoadsorbed the [35S]methionine-labeled translation products with the 8D3 monoclonal antibody against hsp90. The estrogen receptor is bound to hsp90, as indicated by coimmunoadsorption, but the retinoic acid receptor is not. Translation and immunoadsorption of chimeric proteins containing the DNA binding domain of one receptor and the N-terminal and COOH-terminal segments of the other show that the DNA binding finger region of the estrogen receptor is neither necessary nor sufficient for hsp90 binding. These observations suggest that there are two classes within the steroid receptor family. In one class (e.g., glucocorticoid, mineralocorticoid, sex hormone, and dioxin receptors), the receptors bind to hsp90 and remain in some kind of inactive "docking" mode until hormone-triggered release of hsp90 occurs. In the retinoic acid/thyroid hormone class, the unligated receptors do not bind to hsp90, and the receptors appear to proceed directly to their high-affinity nuclear acceptor sites without entering the "docking" state.     

Metabolic formation of nucleoside-modified analogues of S-adenosylmethionine

A Pseudo-ovalbumin gene, bearing significant nucleotide sequence homology to the ovalbumin gene, has been cloned from genomic chick DNA. Similar to the authentic ovalbumin gene, the pseudo-gene is a unique sequence gene in the chick genome and is expressed at a low level in the immature chick oviduct. In contrast to the ovalbumin gene, expression of the pseudo-gene in the oviduct is not inducible by estrogen. The concentration of pseudo-gene RNA is only ～0.01% of that of authentic ovalbumin mRNA in estrogen-stimulated oviduct cells. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the two sequence related genes may reveal the molecular basis of differential response to steroid hormone induction in the same tissue.     

Beta-internexin is a microtubule-associated protein identical to the 70-kDa heat-shock cognate protein and the clathrin uncoating ATPase

We have examined the relationship of the ubiquitous 68-70-kDa cytoskeletal-associated protein beta-internexin (Napolitano, E. W., Pachter, J. S., Chin, S. S. M., and Liem, R. K. H. (1985) J. Cell Biol. 101, 1323-1331) to heat-shock cognate 70 (hsc70), the major constitutive member of the mammalian heat-shock protein 70 (hsp70) family of stress proteins. We purify beta-internexin from rat brain microtubules and confirm its identity with hsc70 and the clathrin-uncoating ATPase by the following criteria: 1) The partial sequence of a cyanogen bromide-derived peptide from beta-internexin matches the inferred amino acid sequence of the cDNA clone pRC62 encoding hsc70 from rat brain (O'Malley, K., Mauron, A., Barchas, J. D., and Kedes, L. (1985) Mol. Cell. Biol. 5, 3476-3483). 2) Mixing experiments followed by two-dimensional gel analyses reveal the precise co-migration of beta-internexin, the clathrin-uncoating ATPase, and the in vitro translation product of cDNA clone pHSP-4 encoding rat brain hsc70. 3) beta-Internexin is recognized by a monoclonal antibody reactive against the class of hsp70 proteins. 4) beta-Internexin purified from a microtubule-associated protein-enriched fraction of rat brain by virtue of high affinity binding to ATP-agarose possesses clathrin cage-specific ATPase activity.     

Isolation and characterization of the human tyrosine hydroxylase gene: identification of 5' alternative splice sites responsible for multiple mRNAs

A full-length genomic clone for human tyrosine hydroxylase (L-tyrosine, tetrahydropteridine:oxygen oxidoreductase, EC 1.14.16.2) has been isolated. A human brain genomic library constructed in EMBL3 was screened by using a rat cDNA for tyrosine hydroxylase as a probe [Brown, E. R., Coker, G. T., III, & O'Malley, K. L. (1987) Biochemistry 26, 5208-5212]. Out of one million recombinant phage, one clone was identified that hybridized to both 5' and 3' rat cDNA probes. Restriction endonuclease mapping. Southern blotting, and sequence analysis revealed that, like its rodent counterpart, the human gene is single copy, contains 13 primary exons, and spans approximately 8 kilobases (kb). In contrast to the rat gene, human tyrosine hydroxylase undergoes alternative RNA processing within intron 1, generating at least three distinct mRNAs. A comparison of the human tyrosine hydroxylase and phenylalanine hydroxylase [DiLella, A. G., Kwok, S. C. M., Ledley, F. D., Marvit, J., & Woo, S. L. C. (1986) Biochemistry 25, 743-749] genes indicates that although both probably evolved from a common ancestral gene, major changes in the size of introns have occurred since their divergence.