Advanced bone formation in mice with a dominant-negative mutation in the thyroid hormone receptor β gene due to activation of Wnt/β-catenin protein signaling

Thyroid hormone (T(3)) acts in chondrocytes and bone-forming osteoblasts to control bone development and maintenance, but the signaling pathways mediating these effects are poorly understood. Thrb(PV/PV) mice have a severely impaired pituitary-thyroid axis and elevated thyroid hormone levels due to a dominant-negative mutant T(3) receptor (TRβ(PV)) that cannot bind T(3) and interferes with the actions of wild-type TR. Thrb(PV/PV) mice have accelerated skeletal development due to unknown mechanisms. We performed microarray studies in primary osteoblasts from wild-type mice and Thrb(PV/PV) mice. Activation of the canonical Wnt signaling in Thrb(PV/PV) mice was confirmed by in situ hybridization analysis of Wnt target gene expression in bone during postnatal growth. By contrast, T(3) treatment inhibited Wnt signaling in osteoblastic cells, suggesting that T(3) inhibits the Wnt pathway by facilitating proteasomal degradation of β-catenin and preventing its accumulation in the nucleus. Activation of the Wnt pathway in Thrb(PV/PV) mice, however, results from a gain of function for TRβ(PV) that stabilizes β-catenin despite the presence of increased thyroid hormone levels. These studies demonstrate novel interactions between T(3) and Wnt signaling pathways in the regulation of skeletal development and bone formation.     

Differential expression of thyroid hormone receptor isoforms dictates the dominant negative activity of mutant Beta receptor

Mutations in the thyroid hormone receptor beta gene (TRbeta) cause resistance to thyroid hormone (RTH). Genetic analyses indicate that phenotypic manifestation of RTH is due to the dominant negative action of mutant TRbeta. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the dominant negative action of mutants and how the same mutation results in marked variability of resistance in different tissues in vivo are not clear. Here we used a knock-in mouse (TRbetaPV mouse) that faithfully reproduces human RTH to address these questions. We demonstrated directly that TRbeta1 protein was approximately 3-fold higher than TRalpha1 in the liver of TRbeta(+/+) mice but was not detectable in the heart of wild-type and TRbetaPV mice. The abundance of PV in the liver of TRbeta(PV/PV) was more than TRbeta(PV/+) mice but not detectable in the heart. TRalpha1 in the liver was approximately 6-fold higher than that in the heart of wild-type and TRbetaPV mice. Using TR isoforms and PV-specific antibodies in gel shift assays, we found that in vivo, PV competed not only with TR isoforms for binding to thyroid hormone response elements (TRE) but also competed with TR for the retinoid X receptors in binding to TRE. These competitions led to the inhibition of the thyroid hormone (T(3))-positive regulated genes in the liver. In the heart, however, PV was significantly lower and thus could not effectively compete with TRalpha1 for binding to TRE, resulting in activation of the T(3)-target genes by higher levels of circulating thyroid hormones. These results indicate that in vivo, differential expression of TR isoforms in tissues dictates the dominant negative activity of mutant beta receptor, thereby resulting in variable phenotypic expression in RTH.     

Marked potentiation of the dominant negative action of a mutant thyroid hormone receptor beta in mice by the ablation of one wild-type beta allele

Mutations in the thyroid hormone receptor (TR) beta gene result in resistance to thyroid hormone (RTH), characterized by reduced sensitivity of tissues to thyroid hormone. To understand which physiological TR pathways are affected by mutant receptors, we crossed mice with a dominantly negative TRbeta mutation (TRbetaPV) with mice carrying a TRbeta null mutation (TRbeta(-/-)) to determine the consequences of the TRbetaPV mutation in the absence of wild-type TRbeta. TRbeta(PV/-) mice are distinct from TRbeta(+/-) mice that did not show abnormalities in thyroid function tests. TRbeta(PV/-) mice are also distinct from TRbeta(PV/+) and TRbeta(-/-) mice in that the latter shows mild dysfunction in the pituitary-thyroid axis, whereas the former exhibit very severe abnormalities, including extensive papillary hyperplasia of the thyroid epithelium, indistinguishable from that observed in TRbeta(PV/PV) mice. Similar to TRbeta(PV/PV) mice, TRbeta(PV/-) mice exhibited impairment in weight gain. Moreover, the abnormal regulation patterns of T3-target genes in the tissues of TRbeta(PV/-) and TRbeta(PV/PV) mice were strikingly similar. Using TR isoforms and PV-specific antibodies in gel shift assays, we found that in vivo, PV competed with TRalpha1 for binding to thyroid hormone response elements in TRbeta(PV/-) mice as effectively as in TRbeta(PV/PV) mice. Thus, the actions of mutant TRbeta are markedly potentiated by the ablation of the second TRbeta allele, suggesting that interference with wild-type TRalpha1-mediated gene regulation by mutant TRbeta leads to severe RTH.     

Determination of nuclear receptor corepressor interactions with the thyroid hormone receptor

The thyroid hormone receptor (TR) recruits the nuclear corepressors, nuclear receptor corepressor (NCoR) and silencing mediator of retinoid and thyroid hormone receptors (SMRT), to target DNA elements in the absence of ligand. While the TR preferentially recruits NCoR, the mechanism remains unclear. The corepressors interact with the TR via interacting domains (IDs) present in their C terminus which contain a conserved motif termed a CoRNR box. Despite their similarity, the corepressor IDs allow for nuclear receptor specificity. Here we demonstrate that NCoR stabilizes the TR homodimer when bound to DNA by preventing its dissociation from thyroid hormone response elements. This suggests that NCoR acts to hold the repression complex in place on target elements. The TR homodimer recruits NCoR through two of its three IDs, one of which is not present in SMRT. This unique ID, N3, contains a CoRNR box but lacks the extended helical motif present in each of the other IDs. Instead, N3 contains an isoleucine just proximal to this motif. This isoleucine is also conserved in N2 but not in the corresponding S2 domain in SMRT. On thyroid hormone response elements and in mammalian cells this residue is critical in both N3 and N2 for high-affinity TR binding. In addition, this residue also controls specificity for the interactions of TR with NCoR. Together these data suggest that the specific recruitment of NCoR by the TR through a unique motif allows for stabilization of the repression complex on target elements.     

Thyroid Hormone Receptor Isoform-specific Modification by Small Ubiquitin-like Modifier (SUMO) Modulates Thyroid Hormone-dependent Gene Regulation

Thyroid hormone receptor (TR) α and β mediate thyroid hormone action at target tissues. TR isoforms have specific roles in development and in adult tissues. The mechanisms underlying TR isoform-specific action, however, are not well understood. We demonstrate that posttranslational modification of TR by conjugation of small SUMO to TRα and TRβ plays an important role in triiodothyronine (T3) action and TR isoform specificity. TRα was sumoylated at lysines 283 and 389, and TRβ at lysines 50, 146, and 443. Sumoylation of TRβ was ligand-dependent, and sumoylation of TRα was ligand-independent. TRα-SUMO conjugation utilized the E3 ligase PIASxβ and TRβ-SUMO conjugation utilized predominantly PIAS1. SUMO1 and SUMO3 conjugation to TR was important for T3-dependent gene regulation, as demonstrated in transient transfection assay and studies of endogenous gene regulation. The functional role of SUMO1 and SUMO3 in T3 induction in transient expression assays was closely matched to the pattern of TR and cofactor recruitment to thyroid hormone response elements (TREs) as determined by ChIP assays. SUMO1 was required for the T3-induced recruitment of the co-activator CREB-binding protein (CBP) and release of nuclear receptor co-repressor (NCoR) on a TRE but had no significant effect on TR DNA binding. SUMO1 was required for T3-mediated recruitment of NCoR and release of CBP from the TSHβ-negative TRE. SUMO3 was required for T3-stimulated TR binding to the TSHβ-negative TRE and recruitment of NCoR. These findings demonstrate that conjugation of SUMO to TR has a TR-isoform preference and is important for T3-dependent gene induction and repression.     

The nuclear corepressors recognize distinct nuclear receptor complexes

The thyroid hormone receptor (TR) and retinoic acid receptor (RAR) isoforms have the capacity to silence gene expression in the absence of their ligands on target response elements. This active repression is mediated by the ability of the corepressors, nuclear receptor corepressor (NCoR) and silencing mediator of retinoid and thyroid hormone receptors (SMRT), to recruit a complex containing histone deacetylase activity. Interestingly, NCoR and SMRT share significant differences in the their two nuclear receptor-interacting domains (IDs), suggesting that they may recruit receptors with different affinities. In addition, the role of the receptor complex bound to a response element has not been fully evaluated in its ability to recruit separate corepressors. We demonstrate in this report that the proximal ID in NCoR and SMRT, which share only 23% homology, allows preferential recognition of nuclear receptors, such that TR prefers to recruit NCoR, and RAR prefers to recruit SMRT, to DNA response elements. However, mutations in the TR found in the syndromes of resistance to thyroid hormone can change the corepressor recruited by changing the complex (homodimer or heterodimer) formed on the TRE. These results demonstrate that the corepressor complex recruited can be both nuclear receptor- and receptor complex-specific.     

Characterization of ligands for thyroid receptor subtypes and their interactions with co-regulators

Thyroid hormone receptors (TRs) are nuclear receptors that are activated by thyroid hormone ligands and co-regulator proteins. Two receptor subtypes, TRα and TRβ, have been suggested to play a role in numerous physiological functions. However, specificity of receptor subtype function and co-regulator interaction is unclear due to the lack of TR subtype-specific ligands. Five TR ligands were evaluated for their selectivity and interaction with the TR subtypes. A multiplex assay was used to identify co-regulator peptide interaction, and biochemical assays were used to characterize ligand-receptor specificity. In the biochemical assay, rank order ligand potencies were similar in the presence of co-activator peptides, SRC1-2 and SRC3-2, and the co-repressor peptide, NCoR1-2, with T3 and Triac potencies greater in the presence of the co-repressor. The potency of Tetrac was similar regardless of the co-regulator used while T4 and rT3 demonstrated selectivity for TRα subtype. The rank order among TR ligands at either receptor subtype in the biochemical assay correlated with the multiplex assay. These assays can be used to identify new ligands that can provide further insight into TR biology.