Skip to main content
PMC home page
Cell Regulation logoLink to Cell Regulation
. 1991 Jul;2(7):565–574. doi: 10.1091/mbc.2.7.565

Regulatory functions of a non-ligand-binding thyroid hormone receptor isoform.

T Hermann 1, X K Zhang 1, M Tzukerman 1, K N Wills 1, G Graupner 1, M Pfahl 1
PMCID: PMC361845  PMID: 1782215

Abstract

Gene regulation by thyroid hormones is mediated through multiple nuclear receptors. Only some of these thyroid hormone receptor (TR) isoforms become transcriptional enhancers in the presence of the thyroid hormone T3. Here we analyze the regulatory function of the human TR alpha 2 isoform. This protein does not bind T3 and is not a transcriptional activator of thyroid hormone-responsive elements (TRE). Transfected TR alpha 2 functions as a constitutive repressor of the transcriptional activators TR alpha 1 and TR beta 1 but also represses heterologous receptors, including the retinoic acid receptor and the estrogen receptor, which can activate TRE-controlled genes. TR alpha 2 protein showed strongly reduced DNA binding to a palindromic TRE when compared with the active TRs. Hybrid receptor analysis revealed that the special properties of the TR alpha 2 protein, including its repressor function and DNA binding characteristics, are intrinsic properties of its carboxyterminus and can be transferred to other receptors. Although it has been shown that the active TRs can act as repressors and silencers due to their strong DNA binding in the absence of hormone, our data show that TR alpha 2 is unlikely to inhibit TRs and other receptors through a competitive DNA binding mechanism. Antibody gel shift experiments suggest that repression by TR alpha 2 might result from interaction with active receptors. Thus, the receptor-like TR alpha 2 isoform differs from typical nuclear receptors in its DNA-binding and ligand-binding properties and appears to regulate the activity of other receptors via protein-protein interaction.

Full text

PDF
567

Images in this article

567Image
on p.567
569Image
on p.569
570Image
on p.570

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Arluke A. The ethical thinking of animal researchers: problems and prospects. New Biol. 1991 Jan;3(1):1–2. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Baniahmad A., Steiner C., Köhne A. C., Renkawitz R. Modular structure of a chicken lysozyme silencer: involvement of an unusual thyroid hormone receptor binding site. Cell. 1990 May 4;61(3):505–514. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(90)90532-j. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Benbrook D., Lernhardt E., Pfahl M. A new retinoic acid receptor identified from a hepatocellular carcinoma. Nature. 1988 Jun 16;333(6174):669–672. doi: 10.1038/333669a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Benbrook D., Pfahl M. A novel thyroid hormone receptor encoded by a cDNA clone from a human testis library. Science. 1987 Nov 6;238(4828):788–791. doi: 10.1126/science.3672126. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Bradley D. J., Young W. S., 3rd, Weinberger C. Differential expression of alpha and beta thyroid hormone receptor genes in rat brain and pituitary. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1989 Sep;86(18):7250–7254. doi: 10.1073/pnas.86.18.7250. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Brand N., Petkovich M., Krust A., Chambon P., de Thé H., Marchio A., Tiollais P., Dejean A. Identification of a second human retinoic acid receptor. Nature. 1988 Apr 28;332(6167):850–853. doi: 10.1038/332850a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Chen C. A., Okayama H. Calcium phosphate-mediated gene transfer: a highly efficient transfection system for stably transforming cells with plasmid DNA. Biotechniques. 1988 Jul-Aug;6(7):632–638. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Damm K., Thompson C. C., Evans R. M. Protein encoded by v-erbA functions as a thyroid-hormone receptor antagonist. Nature. 1989 Jun 22;339(6226):593–597. doi: 10.1038/339593a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Ellis L., Clauser E., Morgan D. O., Edery M., Roth R. A., Rutter W. J. Replacement of insulin receptor tyrosine residues 1162 and 1163 compromises insulin-stimulated kinase activity and uptake of 2-deoxyglucose. Cell. 1986 Jun 6;45(5):721–732. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(86)90786-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Fawell S. E., White R., Hoare S., Sydenham M., Page M., Parker M. G. Inhibition of estrogen receptor-DNA binding by the "pure" antiestrogen ICI 164,384 appears to be mediated by impaired receptor dimerization. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1990 Sep;87(17):6883–6887. doi: 10.1073/pnas.87.17.6883. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Glass C. K., Holloway J. M., Devary O. V., Rosenfeld M. G. The thyroid hormone receptor binds with opposite transcriptional effects to a common sequence motif in thyroid hormone and estrogen response elements. Cell. 1988 Jul 29;54(3):313–323. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(88)90194-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Gorman C. M., Moffat L. F., Howard B. H. Recombinant genomes which express chloramphenicol acetyltransferase in mammalian cells. Mol Cell Biol. 1982 Sep;2(9):1044–1051. doi: 10.1128/mcb.2.9.1044. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Graupner G., Wills K. N., Tzukerman M., Zhang X. K., Pfahl M. Dual regulatory role for thyroid-hormone receptors allows control of retinoic-acid receptor activity. Nature. 1989 Aug 24;340(6235):653–656. doi: 10.1038/340653a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Herbomel P., Bourachot B., Yaniv M. Two distinct enhancers with different cell specificities coexist in the regulatory region of polyoma. Cell. 1984 Dec;39(3 Pt 2):653–662. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(84)90472-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Hodin R. A., Lazar M. A., Wintman B. I., Darling D. S., Koenig R. J., Larsen P. R., Moore D. D., Chin W. W. Identification of a thyroid hormone receptor that is pituitary-specific. Science. 1989 Apr 7;244(4900):76–79. doi: 10.1126/science.2539642. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Izumo S., Mahdavi V. Thyroid hormone receptor alpha isoforms generated by alternative splicing differentially activate myosin HC gene transcription. Nature. 1988 Aug 11;334(6182):539–542. doi: 10.1038/334539a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Klein-Hitpass L., Schorpp M., Wagner U., Ryffel G. U. An estrogen-responsive element derived from the 5' flanking region of the Xenopus vitellogenin A2 gene functions in transfected human cells. Cell. 1986 Sep 26;46(7):1053–1061. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(86)90705-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Koenig R. J., Lazar M. A., Hodin R. A., Brent G. A., Larsen P. R., Chin W. W., Moore D. D. Inhibition of thyroid hormone action by a non-hormone binding c-erbA protein generated by alternative mRNA splicing. Nature. 1989 Feb 16;337(6208):659–661. doi: 10.1038/337659a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Koenig R. J., Warne R. L., Brent G. A., Harney J. W., Larsen P. R., Moore D. D. Isolation of a cDNA clone encoding a biologically active thyroid hormone receptor. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1988 Jul;85(14):5031–5035. doi: 10.1073/pnas.85.14.5031. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Kozak M. The scanning model for translation: an update. J Cell Biol. 1989 Feb;108(2):229–241. doi: 10.1083/jcb.108.2.229. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Lazar M. A., Hodin R. A., Chin W. W. Human carboxyl-terminal variant of alpha-type c-erbA inhibits trans-activation by thyroid hormone receptors without binding thyroid hormone. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1989 Oct;86(20):7771–7774. doi: 10.1073/pnas.86.20.7771. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Lazar M. A., Hodin R. A., Darling D. S., Chin W. W. Identification of a rat c-erbA alpha-related protein which binds deoxyribonucleic acid but does not bind thyroid hormone. Mol Endocrinol. 1988 Oct;2(10):893–901. doi: 10.1210/mend-2-10-893. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Luckow B., Schütz G. CAT constructions with multiple unique restriction sites for the functional analysis of eukaryotic promoters and regulatory elements. Nucleic Acids Res. 1987 Jul 10;15(13):5490–5490. doi: 10.1093/nar/15.13.5490. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Mitsuhashi T., Tennyson G. E., Nikodem V. M. Alternative splicing generates messages encoding rat c-erbA proteins that do not bind thyroid hormone. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1988 Aug;85(16):5804–5808. doi: 10.1073/pnas.85.16.5804. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Nakai A., Sakurai A., Bell G. I., DeGroot L. J. Characterization of a third human thyroid hormone receptor coexpressed with other thyroid hormone receptors in several tissues. Mol Endocrinol. 1988 Nov;2(11):1087–1092. doi: 10.1210/mend-2-11-1087. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Nielsen D. A., Chang T. C., Shapiro D. J. A highly sensitive, mixed-phase assay for chloramphenicol acetyltransferase activity in transfected cells. Anal Biochem. 1989 May 15;179(1):19–23. doi: 10.1016/0003-2697(89)90193-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Pfahl M., Tzukerman M., Zhang X. K., Lehmann J. M., Hermann T., Wills K. N., Graupner G. Nuclear retinoic acid receptors: cloning, analysis, and function. Methods Enzymol. 1990;189:256–270. doi: 10.1016/0076-6879(90)89297-u. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Privalsky M. L., Sharif M., Yamamoto K. R. The viral erbA oncogene protein, a constitutive repressor in animal cells, is a hormone-regulated activator in yeast. Cell. 1990 Dec 21;63(6):1277–1286. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(90)90423-c. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Rentoumis A., Chatterjee V. K., Madison L. D., Datta S., Gallagher G. D., Degroot L. J., Jameson J. L. Negative and positive transcriptional regulation by thyroid hormone receptor isoforms. Mol Endocrinol. 1990 Oct;4(10):1522–1531. doi: 10.1210/mend-4-10-1522. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Sakurai A., Nakai A., DeGroot L. J. Expression of three forms of thyroid hormone receptor in human tissues. Mol Endocrinol. 1989 Feb;3(2):392–399. doi: 10.1210/mend-3-2-392. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Sap J., Muñoz A., Damm K., Goldberg Y., Ghysdael J., Leutz A., Beug H., Vennström B. The c-erb-A protein is a high-affinity receptor for thyroid hormone. Nature. 1986 Dec 18;324(6098):635–640. doi: 10.1038/324635a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Sap J., Muñoz A., Schmitt J., Stunnenberg H., Vennström B. Repression of transcription mediated at a thyroid hormone response element by the v-erb-A oncogene product. Nature. 1989 Jul 20;340(6230):242–244. doi: 10.1038/340242a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Schueler P. A., Schwartz H. L., Strait K. A., Mariash C. N., Oppenheimer J. H. Binding of 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine (T3) and its analogs to the in vitro translational products of c-erbA protooncogenes: differences in the affinity of the alpha- and beta-forms for the acetic acid analog and failure of the human testis and kidney alpha-2 products to bind T3. Mol Endocrinol. 1990 Feb;4(2):227–234. doi: 10.1210/mend-4-2-227. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. Sun X. H., Baltimore D. An inhibitory domain of E12 transcription factor prevents DNA binding in E12 homodimers but not in E12 heterodimers. Cell. 1991 Jan 25;64(2):459–470. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(91)90653-g. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Thompson C. C., Weinberger C., Lebo R., Evans R. M. Identification of a novel thyroid hormone receptor expressed in the mammalian central nervous system. Science. 1987 Sep 25;237(4822):1610–1614. doi: 10.1126/science.3629259. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. Umesono K., Giguere V., Glass C. K., Rosenfeld M. G., Evans R. M. Retinoic acid and thyroid hormone induce gene expression through a common responsive element. Nature. 1988 Nov 17;336(6196):262–265. doi: 10.1038/336262a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  37. Weinberger C., Thompson C. C., Ong E. S., Lebo R., Gruol D. J., Evans R. M. The c-erb-A gene encodes a thyroid hormone receptor. Nature. 1986 Dec 18;324(6098):641–646. doi: 10.1038/324641a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  38. Zenke M., Muñoz A., Sap J., Vennström B., Beug H. v-erbA oncogene activation entails the loss of hormone-dependent regulator activity of c-erbA. Cell. 1990 Jun 15;61(6):1035–1049. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(90)90068-p. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Cell Regulation are provided here courtesy of American Society for Cell Biology

RESOURCES