Chromatin studies reveal that an ERE is located far upstream of a vitellogenin gene and that a distal tissue-specific hypersensitive site is conserved for two coordinately regulated vitellogenin genes.

Estrogen induces the expression of three vitellogenin genes in chicken hepatocytes. To survey the vitellogenin III (VTGIII) gene region for possible distal regulatory sequences, we identified tissue-specific hypersensitive (HS) sites within a 45 kb chromatin region spanning this gene. Five constitutive HS sites were found to mark the VTGIII gene region in hormone-naive hepatocytes. Strikingly, the constitutive HS site located 5.5 kb upstream of the VTGIII gene and a previously identified HS site located within the coordinately regulated VTGII gene mapped to nearly identical copies of a 72 bp sequence. Moreover, it would appear that there has been evolutionary pressure to retain specifically this 72 bp of VTGII-like sequence near the VTGIII gene subsequent to the VTGIII and VTGII genes becoming unlinked approximately 16 Myr ago. Two additional sets of HS sites were induced in the VTGIII gene region in response to estrogen. One set mapped immediately upstream of the gene in the vicinity of what we show to be a functional estrogen response element (ERE). The other induced HS site mapped 7.5 kb upstream of the gene. This far-upstream region was sequenced and was found to contain two imperfect ERE consensus sequences spaced 88 bp apart. In transient expression assays neither of these individual imperfect ERE sequences was functional, but a fragment spanning both sequences behaved as a strong ERE. In contrast to this synergism between imperfect ERE sequences, the presence of an NF-1 binding site 23 bp away from the more distal imperfect ERE sequence was not sufficient to render the latter a functional ERE in our assays.     

Comparison of the estrogen responsiveness of the rat and bovine oxytocin gene promoters

DNA sequences in the 5'-flanking region of rat and bovine oxytocin genes were examined for their capacity to confer estrogen responsiveness to their homologous promoters. In contrast to the 5'-flanking region of the rat oxytocin gene, upstream promoter sequences up to 3200 bp of the bovine gene linked to the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) reporter gene which were transfected in estrogen receptor expressing MCF-7 cells did not respond to estrogen. Testing 5'-deletion mutants of the rat upstream region linked to the luciferase gene in P19 embryocarcinoma cells co-transfected with an estrogen receptor expression plasmid showed that two regions each associated with approximately 15-fold stimulation of promoter activity were located between nucleotides -172 and -149 and between -148 and +16 in the rat gene. The former region contains the imperfect palindrome GGTGACCTTGACC which differs in one nucleotide from the estrogen response element (ERE) consensus. It is concluded that the corresponding motive CATAACCTTGACC of the bovine gene is not a functional ERE. Thus, the estrogen responsiveness of oxytocin genes is species-dependent.     

The estrogen-responsive element as an inducible enhancer: DNA sequence requirements and conversion to a glucocorticoid-responsive element.

The estrogen-responsive element (ERE) present in the 5'-flanking region of the Xenopus laevis vitellogenin (vit) gene B1 has been characterized by transient expression analysis of chimeric vit-tk-CAT (chloramphenicol acetyltransferase) gene constructs transfected into the human estrogen-responsive MCF-7 cell line. The vit B1 ERE behaves like an inducible enhancer, since it is able to confer estrogen inducibility to the heterologous HSV thymidine kinase (tk) promoter in a relative position- and orientation-independent manner. In this assay, the minimal B1 ERE is 33 bp long and consists of two 13 bp imperfect palindromic elements both of which are required for the enhancer activity. A third imperfect palindromic element is present further upstream within the 5'-flanking region of the gene but is unable to confer hormone responsiveness by itself. Similarly, neither element forming the B1 ERE can alone confer estrogen inducibility to the tk promoter. However, in combinations of two, all three imperfect palindromes can act cooperatively to form a functional ERE. In contrast a single 13 bp perfect palindromic element, GGTCACTGTGACC, such as the one found upstream of the vit gene A2, is itself sufficient to act as a fully active ERE. Single point mutations within this element abolish estrogen inducibility, while a defined combination of two mutations converts this ERE into a glucocorticoid-responsive element.     

17 beta-estradiol activates PI3K/Akt signaling pathway by estrogen receptor (ER)-dependent and ER-independent mechanisms in endometrial cancer cells

Cellular response to estrogen is mediated both by estrogen receptor (ER) binding to estrogen response element (ERE) and by non-nuclear actions like activation of signal transducing pathways. The main aims are to study if PI3K/Akt signaling pathway can be activated by 17beta-estradiol (E2) via non-nuclear action and to investigate the relationship of the action of E2 and ER in endometrial cancer cells expressing with different status of ER. The levels of phosphorylated Akt (Ser473) (P-Akt) and total Akt were examined by western blot and Akt kinase activity was measured in cells after stimulation with 1 microM E2 at different time points. Inhibitory role of LY294002 on activation of Akt induced by E2 and its estrogen antagonist, ICI182780 were also tested. P-Akt/Akt was used as a measure of activation of Akt. We found that maximum P-Akt/Akt and Akt kinase activity took place at 30 min in Ishikawa cells and 15 min in HEC-1A cells and the activation persisted for at least 2 h after stimulation with 1 microM E2. The activation of Akt elicited gradually with increasing doses of E2. PI3K inhibitor, LY294002, stopped the activating Akt in a dose-dependent manner and 50 microM LY294002 completely blocked the activation of Akt induced by E2. ICI182780 could block the activation of PI3K/Akt in ER-positive Ishikawa cells but not in HEC-1A cells with poor-expressed ER. This study demonstrated that E2 is able to promptly activate PI3K/Akt signal pathway in Ishikawa cells in an ER-dependent manner and ER-independent in HEC-1A cells. Blockage of PI3K/Akt cascade may become a potential and effective way to control endometrial carcinoma, especially in ER-negative cancers, which show no response to endocrinal therapy.     

Activation and cross-talk between Akt, NF-kappaB, and unfolded protein response signaling in 1-LN prostate cancer cells consequent to ligation of cell surface-associated GRP78

Binding of activated forms of the proteinase inhibitor alpha2-macroglobulin (alpha2M*) to cell surface-associated GRP78 on 1-LN human prostate cancer cells causes their proliferation. We have now examined the interplay between Akt activation, regulation of apoptosis, the unfolded protein response, and activation of NF-kappaB in alpha2M*-induced proliferation of 1-LN cells. Exposure of cells to alpha2M* (50 pM) induced phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-dependent activation of Akt by phosphorylation at Thr-308 and Ser-473 with a concomitant 60-80% increase in Akt-associated kinase activity. ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK were also activated, but there was only a marginal effect on JNK activation. Treatment of 1-LN cells with alpha2M* down-regulated apoptosis and promoted NF-kappaB activation as shown by increases of Bcl-2, p-Bad(Ser-136), p-FOXO1(Ser-253), p-GSK3beta(Ser-9), XIAP, NF-kappaB, cyclin D1, GADD45beta, p-ASK1(Ser-83), and TRAF2 in a time of incubation-dependent manner. alpha2M* treatment of 1-LN cells, however, showed no increase in the activation of caspase -3, -9, or -12. Under these conditions, we observed increased unfolded protein response signaling as evidenced by elevated levels of GRP78, IRE1alpha, XBP-1, ATF4, ATF6, p-PERK, p-eIF2alpha, and GADD34 and reduced levels of GADD153. Silencing of GRP78 gene expression by RNAi suppressed activation of Akt(Thr-308), Akt(Ser-473), and IkappaB kinase alpha kinase. The effects of alpha2M* on the NF-kappaB activation, antiapoptotic signaling, unfolded protein response signaling, and proapoptotic signaling were also reversed by this treatment. In conclusion, alpha2M* promotes cellular proliferation of 1-LN prostate cancer cells by activating MAPK and Akt-dependent signaling, down-regulating apoptotic signaling, and activating unfolded protein response signaling.