Binding of the estrogen receptor DNA-binding domain to the estrogen response element induces DNA bending.

We have used circular permutation analysis to determine whether binding of purified Xenopus laevis estrogen receptor DNA-binding domain (DBD) to a DNA fragment containing an estrogen response element (ERE) causes the DNA to bend. Gel mobility shift assays showed that DBD-DNA complexes formed with fragments containing more centrally located EREs migrated more slowly than complexes formed with fragments containing EREs near the ends of the DNA. DNA bending standards were used to determine that the degree of bending induced by binding of the DBD to an ERE was approximately 34 degrees. A 1.55-fold increase in the degree of bending was observed when two EREs were present in the DNA fragment. These in vitro studies suggest that interaction of nuclear receptors with their hormone response elements in vivo may result in an altered DNA conformation.     

Hormonal regulation of vitellogenin genes: an estrogen-responsive element in the Xenopus A2 gene and a multihormonal regulatory region in the chicken II gene

Expression of the vitellogenin genes in avian and amphibian liver is regulated by estrogens. The DNA elements mediating estrogen induction of the various vitellogenin genes of chicken and Xenopus encompass one or more copies of a 13-mer palindromic sequence called the estrogen-responsive element (ERE). Here we show that upon incubation with the purified estrogen receptor (ER) from calf uterus the Xenopus vitellogenin A2 gene yields a DNase-I footprint over the ERE between -331 and -319. This element does not mediate the response to glucocorticoids or progestins in T47D cells. The three guanine residues in each half of the palindrome are protected against methylation by dimethylsulfate after incubation with ER, but not with glucocorticoid (GR) or progesterone (PR) receptors. In contrast, the chicken vitellogenin II gene exhibits multihormonal regulation by estrogens, progestins, and glucocorticoids in T47D and MCF7 cells. Regulation is mediated by the DNA region between -721 and -591 that contains four binding sites for hormone receptors, as demonstrated by DNase-I footprints and methylation protection experiments. The two distal and most proximal binding sites are recognized by ER, GR, and PR, whereas the central binding site is only bound by ER and GR. At suboptimal concentrations, estrogens and progestins or glucocorticoids act synergistically. In experiments using a DNA fragment containing an ERE adjacent to a glucocorticoid-responsive element/progesterone-responsive element, ER and PR bind synergistically to their corresponding sites, perhaps explaining the functional synergism of both hormones. Thus, two very different regulatory elements are used to mediate estrogen induction of related genes in chickens and amphibians.     

Uterine estrogen receptor-DNA complexes: effects of different ERE sequences, ligands, and receptor forms

Previous studies used the gel retardation assay to examine the binding of the mouse estrogen receptor (ER) to the estrogen-responsive element (ERE) from the vitellogenin A2 gene (VitA2ERE). Multiple specific complexes were formed when the ER was bound to various estrogen agonists or antagonists, or in the absence of bound hormone. The ERE from the human PS2 gene, which varies from the consensus ERE by one base change in the right arm, was used in this study to determine the effect of DNA sequence on ER-ERE interaction with various ligand-receptor complexes. Partially purified ligand-free soluble ER showed a 3-fold lower affinity for the PS2ERE than for the VitA2ERE, suggesting a possible influence of the imperfect DNA sequence on certain binding interactions. However, multiple complexes of similar affinity were formed with the PS2 sequence by nuclear ER regardless of the agonist or antagonist bound. In gel retardation experiments, antagonist (LY117018) nuclear ER complexes bound to either PS2 or VitA2ERE migrated more slowly than agonist complexes, indicating that the slower migrating form of the complex was not due to the DNA sequence. Interestingly, soluble ER bound by LY 117018 did not produce this decreased mobility complex, suggesting that it was specific to the nuclear form of the ER antagonist complex. Receptor activation has been linked with exposure to increased temperature, resulting in an ER form that has an increased affinity for DNA. The binding of molybdate-stabilized nonactivated 8S ER to VitA2ERE was studied to determine the effect of temperature on ER binding.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Localization of an estrogen receptor binding site near the promoter of the uteroglobin gene

By means of a DNA-cellulose competitive binding assay, we have studied the interaction of the estrogen receptor with genomic fragments of the estrogen responsive rabbit uteroglobin gene. The fragments spanned from 3255 bp upstream to 1754 bp downstream of the initiation site. Only a fragment (-396/+8) showed strong affinity for the receptor. Within this fragment a unique palindromic sequence (GGTCAccaTGCCC) was found which is very similar to the canonical consensus sequence for the estrogen receptor. A synthetic oligonucleotide of that structure specifically competed for the binding of the receptor to DNA-cellulose.     

Synergism of closely adjacent estrogen-responsive elements increases their regulatory potential

Recent gene transfer experiments have shown that an estrogen-responsive DNA element (ERE) GGTCANNNTGACC mediates the estrogen inducibility of the Xenopus laevis vitellogenin A1 and A2 genes as well as the chicken vitellogenin II gene. We report here on experiments that explain the estrogen regulation of the Xenopus vitellogenin B1 and B2 genes. In these genes, two ERE homologues, which have only low, if any, regulatory capacity on their own, act synergistically to achieve high estrogen inducibility. Furthermore we show that synergism of EREs is most efficient, when the two elements are closely adjacent and that it is lost when the synergistic elements are separated by 125 basepairs. In-vitro estrogen receptor binding experiments indicate that co-operative binding of estrogen receptors to closely adjacent EREs is not essential for synergism of ERE homologues that have no intrinsic regulatory capacity. Functional synergism of EREs is observed in the human estrogen-responsive MCF-7 cell line as well as in mouse fibroblasts (Ltk-) cotransfected with estrogen receptor expression vectors. Even expression of a truncated receptor protein lacking 178 amino acid residues of the amino-terminal end allows synergism, suggesting that the amino-terminal end preceding the DNA-binding domain of the estrogen receptor is not required.     

The uteroglobin promoter contains a noncanonical estrogen responsive element

Uteroglobin is expressed in various tissues of the rabbit under complex hormonal control. In the endometrium the uteroglobin gene is transcribed only in epithelial cells after administration of ovarian hormones. In this paper we demonstrate that within the promoter region of the rabbit uteroglobin gene, there is a functional estrogen-responsive element (ERE) located between -265 and -252. Hybrid constructions containing sequences of the uteroglobin promoter up to -299, linked to the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene of E. coli respond to estrogens in gene transfer experiments, whereas a deletion that removes half of the ERE does not. A synthetic oligonucleotide corresponding to the putative ERE is able to confer estrogen inducibility to an otherwise unresponsive promoter. Binding experiments with purified estrogen receptor from calf uterus reveal a DNase-I footprint over the ERE. Within this protected region six guanine residues that have been shown to be contacted by the receptor in other EREs are protected against methylation by dimethylsulfate in the presence of the estrogen receptor. We compare this ERE with the vitellogenin A2 ERE from Xenopus and find that the relative affinity of the uteroglobin ERE is slightly lower than that of the vitellogenin ERE. Thus, this uteroglobin ERE could be involved in physiological regulation of uteroglobin expression in the genital tract.     

Sp1 binding sites and an estrogen response element half-site are involved in regulation of the human progesterone receptor A promoter

Progesterone receptor gene expression is induced by estrogen in MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. Although it is generally thought that estrogen responsiveness is mediated through estrogen response elements (EREs), the progesterone receptor gene lacks an identifiable ERE. The progesterone receptor A promoter does, however, contain a half-ERE/Sp1 binding site comprised of an ERE half-site upstream of two Sp1 binding sites. We have used in vivo deoxyribonuclease I (DNase I) footprinting to demonstrate that the half-ERE/Sp1 binding site is more protected when MCF-7 cells are treated with estrogen than when cells are not exposed to hormone, suggesting that this region is involved in estrogen-regulated gene expression. The ability of the half-ERE/Sp1 binding site to confer estrogen responsiveness to a simple heterologous promoter was confirmed in transient cotransfection assays. In vitro DNase I footprinting and gel mobility shift assays demonstrated that Sp1 present in MCF-7 nuclear extracts and purified Sp1 protein bound to the two Sp1 sites and that the estrogen receptor enhanced Sp1 binding. In addition to its effects on Sp1 binding, the estrogen receptor also bound directly to the ERE half-site. Taken together, these findings suggest that the estrogen receptor and Sp1 play a role in activation of the human progesterone receptor A promoter.     

Estrogen receptor alpha interaction with estrogen response element half-sites from the rat prolactin gene

Estrogen regulation of the rat prolactin gene requires sequences within the DNase I hypersensitive site II (HSII). We have used overexpressed mouse estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) protein to study interactions of ERalpha with an imperfect estrogen response element (ERE) and four ERE half-site sequences from HSII. We confirmed that ERalpha has higher affinity for ERE half-sites than for the imperfect ERE. As expected, the imperfect ERE formed a complex with ERalpha similar to that between mERalpha and a consensus ERE in gel shift assays. The ERalpha complex with half-sites, however, had faster mobility on a 4% polyacrylamide gel than the ERalpha complex with a consensus ERE, indicating that the complexes had different compositions. Ferguson analysis revealed that the ERalpha/half-site complex had a larger molecular weight and higher negative charge than the ERalpha/consensus ERE complex. Similar results were observed with purified human ERalpha, showing that the ERalpha/half-site complex contained only ERalpha and oligonucleotides. These results are best explained by a model in which a dimer of ERalpha is bound to two half-site oligonucleotides. We propose that two ERalpha dimers may interact with the four ERE half-sites in HSII to influence estrogen regulation of this gene.