Skip to main content
PMC home page
Molecular and Cellular Biology logoLink to Molecular and Cellular Biology
. 1993 Dec;13(12):7698–7707. doi: 10.1128/mcb.13.12.7698

Formation of retinoid X receptor homodimers leads to repression of T3 response: hormonal cross talk by ligand-induced squelching.

J M Lehmann 1, X K Zhang 1, G Graupner 1, M O Lee 1, T Hermann 1, B Hoffmann 1, M Pfahl 1
PMCID: PMC364841  PMID: 8246986

Abstract

Thyroid hormone receptors (TRs) form heterodimers with retinoid X receptors (RXRs). Heterodimerization is required for efficient TR DNA binding to most response elements and transcriptional activation by thyroid hormone. RXRs also function as auxiliary proteins for several other receptors. In addition, RXR alpha can be induced by specific ligands to form homodimers. Here we report that RXR-specific retinoids that induce RXR homodimers are effective repressors of the T3 response. We provide evidence that this repression by RXR-specific ligands occurs by sequestering of RXR from TR-RXR heterodimers into RXR homodimers. This ligand-induced squelching may represent an important mechanism by which RXR-specific retinoids and 9-cis retinoic acid mediate hormonal cross talk among a subfamily of nuclear receptors activated by structurally unrelated ligands.

Full text

PDF
7702

Images in this article

7701Image
on p.7701
7702Image
on p.7702
7704Image
on p.7704

Selected References

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

  1. Beato M. Gene regulation by steroid hormones. Cell. 1989 Feb 10;56(3):335–344. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(89)90237-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. 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]
  3. Bollag W. Vitamin A and retinoids: from nutrition to pharmacotherapy in dermatology and oncology. Lancet. 1983 Apr 16;1(8329):860–863. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(83)91394-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Bugge T. H., Pohl J., Lonnoy O., Stunnenberg H. G. RXR alpha, a promiscuous partner of retinoic acid and thyroid hormone receptors. EMBO J. 1992 Apr;11(4):1409–1418. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1992.tb05186.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Cooney A. J., Tsai S. Y., O'Malley B. W., Tsai M. J. Chicken ovalbumin upstream promoter transcription factor (COUP-TF) dimers bind to different GGTCA response elements, allowing COUP-TF to repress hormonal induction of the vitamin D3, thyroid hormone, and retinoic acid receptors. Mol Cell Biol. 1992 Sep;12(9):4153–4163. doi: 10.1128/mcb.12.9.4153. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Desvergne B., Petty K. J., Nikodem V. M. Functional characterization and receptor binding studies of the malic enzyme thyroid hormone response element. J Biol Chem. 1991 Jan 15;266(2):1008–1013. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Drouin J., Sun Y. L., Tremblay S., Lavender P., Schmidt T. J., de Léan A., Nemer M. Homodimer formation is rate-limiting for high affinity DNA binding by glucocorticoid receptor. Mol Endocrinol. 1992 Aug;6(8):1299–1309. doi: 10.1210/mend.6.8.1406707. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Durand B., Saunders M., Leroy P., Leid M., Chambon P. All-trans and 9-cis retinoic acid induction of CRABPII transcription is mediated by RAR-RXR heterodimers bound to DR1 and DR2 repeated motifs. Cell. 1992 Oct 2;71(1):73–85. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(92)90267-g. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Flink I. L., Morkin E. Interaction of thyroid hormone receptors with strong and weak cis-acting elements in the human alpha-myosin heavy chain gene promoter. J Biol Chem. 1990 Jul 5;265(19):11233–11237. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Forman B. M., Yang C. R., Au M., Casanova J., Ghysdael J., Samuels H. H. A domain containing leucine-zipper-like motifs mediate novel in vivo interactions between the thyroid hormone and retinoic acid receptors. Mol Endocrinol. 1989 Oct;3(10):1610–1626. doi: 10.1210/mend-3-10-1610. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. 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]
  12. Graupner G., Zhang X. K., Tzukerman M., Wills K., Hermann T., Pfahl M. Thyroid hormone receptors repress estrogen receptor activation of a TRE. Mol Endocrinol. 1991 Mar;5(3):365–372. doi: 10.1210/mend-5-3-365. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Hamada K., Gleason S. L., Levi B. Z., Hirschfeld S., Appella E., Ozato K. H-2RIIBP, a member of the nuclear hormone receptor superfamily that binds to both the regulatory element of major histocompatibility class I genes and the estrogen response element. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1989 Nov;86(21):8289–8293. doi: 10.1073/pnas.86.21.8289. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Hermann T., Hoffmann B., Piedrafita F. J., Zhang X. K., Pfahl M. V-erbA requires auxiliary proteins for dominant negative activity. Oncogene. 1993 Jan;8(1):55–65. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Hermann T., Hoffmann B., Zhang X. K., Tran P., Pfahl M. Heterodimeric receptor complexes determine 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine and retinoid signaling specificities. Mol Endocrinol. 1992 Jul;6(7):1153–1162. doi: 10.1210/mend.6.7.1324421. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Heyman R. A., Mangelsdorf D. J., Dyck J. A., Stein R. B., Eichele G., Evans R. M., Thaller C. 9-cis retinoic acid is a high affinity ligand for the retinoid X receptor. Cell. 1992 Jan 24;68(2):397–406. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(92)90479-v. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Hong W. K., Lippman S. M., Itri L. M., Karp D. D., Lee J. S., Byers R. M., Schantz S. P., Kramer A. M., Lotan R., Peters L. J. Prevention of second primary tumors with isotretinoin in squamous-cell carcinoma of the head and neck. N Engl J Med. 1990 Sep 20;323(12):795–801. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199009203231205. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Huang M. E., Ye Y. C., Chen S. R., Chai J. R., Lu J. X., Zhoa L., Gu L. J., Wang Z. Y. Use of all-trans retinoic acid in the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia. Blood. 1988 Aug;72(2):567–572. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Husmann M., Hoffmann B., Stump D. G., Chytil F., Pfahl M. A retinoic acid response element from the rat CRBPI promoter is activated by an RAR/RXR heterodimer. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1992 Sep 30;187(3):1558–1564. doi: 10.1016/0006-291x(92)90480-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Husmann M., Lehmann J., Hoffmann B., Hermann T., Tzukerman M., Pfahl M. Antagonism between retinoic acid receptors. Mol Cell Biol. 1991 Aug;11(8):4097–4103. doi: 10.1128/mcb.11.8.4097. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Kliewer S. A., Umesono K., Mangelsdorf D. J., Evans R. M. Retinoid X receptor interacts with nuclear receptors in retinoic acid, thyroid hormone and vitamin D3 signalling. Nature. 1992 Jan 30;355(6359):446–449. doi: 10.1038/355446a0. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Kliewer S. A., Umesono K., Noonan D. J., Heyman R. A., Evans R. M. Convergence of 9-cis retinoic acid and peroxisome proliferator signalling pathways through heterodimer formation of their receptors. Nature. 1992 Aug 27;358(6389):771–774. doi: 10.1038/358771a0. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Kraemer K. H., DiGiovanna J. J., Moshell A. N., Tarone R. E., Peck G. L. Prevention of skin cancer in xeroderma pigmentosum with the use of oral isotretinoin. N Engl J Med. 1988 Jun 23;318(25):1633–1637. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198806233182501. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Lehmann J. M., Jong L., Fanjul A., Cameron J. F., Lu X. P., Haefner P., Dawson M. I., Pfahl M. Retinoids selective for retinoid X receptor response pathways. Science. 1992 Dec 18;258(5090):1944–1946. doi: 10.1126/science.1335166. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Lehmann J. M., Zhang X. K., Pfahl M. RAR gamma 2 expression is regulated through a retinoic acid response element embedded in Sp1 sites. Mol Cell Biol. 1992 Jul;12(7):2976–2985. doi: 10.1128/mcb.12.7.2976. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Leid M., Kastner P., Lyons R., Nakshatri H., Saunders M., Zacharewski T., Chen J. Y., Staub A., Garnier J. M., Mader S. Purification, cloning, and RXR identity of the HeLa cell factor with which RAR or TR heterodimerizes to bind target sequences efficiently. Cell. 1992 Jan 24;68(2):377–395. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(92)90478-u. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Levin A. A., Sturzenbecker L. J., Kazmer S., Bosakowski T., Huselton C., Allenby G., Speck J., Kratzeisen C., Rosenberger M., Lovey A. 9-cis retinoic acid stereoisomer binds and activates the nuclear receptor RXR alpha. Nature. 1992 Jan 23;355(6358):359–361. doi: 10.1038/355359a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Lippman S. M., Kessler J. F., Meyskens F. L., Jr Retinoids as preventive and therapeutic anticancer agents (Part I). Cancer Treat Rep. 1987 Apr;71(4):391–405. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Lotan R. Effects of vitamin A and its analogs (retinoids) on normal and neoplastic cells. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1980 Mar 12;605(1):33–91. doi: 10.1016/0304-419x(80)90021-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Mahdavi V., Chambers A. P., Nadal-Ginard B. Cardiac alpha- and beta-myosin heavy chain genes are organized in tandem. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1984 May;81(9):2626–2630. doi: 10.1073/pnas.81.9.2626. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Mangelsdorf D. J., Borgmeyer U., Heyman R. A., Zhou J. Y., Ong E. S., Oro A. E., Kakizuka A., Evans R. M. Characterization of three RXR genes that mediate the action of 9-cis retinoic acid. Genes Dev. 1992 Mar;6(3):329–344. doi: 10.1101/gad.6.3.329. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Mangelsdorf D. J., Ong E. S., Dyck J. A., Evans R. M. Nuclear receptor that identifies a novel retinoic acid response pathway. Nature. 1990 May 17;345(6272):224–229. doi: 10.1038/345224a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Mangelsdorf D. J., Umesono K., Kliewer S. A., Borgmeyer U., Ong E. S., Evans R. M. A direct repeat in the cellular retinol-binding protein type II gene confers differential regulation by RXR and RAR. Cell. 1991 Aug 9;66(3):555–561. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(81)90018-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. Marks M. S., Hallenbeck P. L., Nagata T., Segars J. H., Appella E., Nikodem V. M., Ozato K. H-2RIIBP (RXR beta) heterodimerization provides a mechanism for combinatorial diversity in the regulation of retinoic acid and thyroid hormone responsive genes. EMBO J. 1992 Apr;11(4):1419–1435. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1992.tb05187.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. När A. M., Boutin J. M., Lipkin S. M., Yu V. C., Holloway J. M., Glass C. K., Rosenfeld M. G. The orientation and spacing of core DNA-binding motifs dictate selective transcriptional responses to three nuclear receptors. Cell. 1991 Jun 28;65(7):1267–1279. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(91)90021-p. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. 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]
  37. 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]
  38. Tran P., Zhang X. K., Salbert G., Hermann T., Lehmann J. M., Pfahl M. COUP orphan receptors are negative regulators of retinoic acid response pathways. Mol Cell Biol. 1992 Oct;12(10):4666–4676. doi: 10.1128/mcb.12.10.4666. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  39. Umesono K., Murakami K. K., Thompson C. C., Evans R. M. Direct repeats as selective response elements for the thyroid hormone, retinoic acid, and vitamin D3 receptors. Cell. 1991 Jun 28;65(7):1255–1266. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(91)90020-y. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  40. Widom R. L., Rhee M., Karathanasis S. K. Repression by ARP-1 sensitizes apolipoprotein AI gene responsiveness to RXR alpha and retinoic acid. Mol Cell Biol. 1992 Aug;12(8):3380–3389. doi: 10.1128/mcb.12.8.3380. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  41. Yu V. C., Delsert C., Andersen B., Holloway J. M., Devary O. V., När A. M., Kim S. Y., Boutin J. M., Glass C. K., Rosenfeld M. G. RXR beta: a coregulator that enhances binding of retinoic acid, thyroid hormone, and vitamin D receptors to their cognate response elements. Cell. 1991 Dec 20;67(6):1251–1266. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(91)90301-e. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  42. Zhang X. K., Hoffmann B., Tran P. B., Graupner G., Pfahl M. Retinoid X receptor is an auxiliary protein for thyroid hormone and retinoic acid receptors. Nature. 1992 Jan 30;355(6359):441–446. doi: 10.1038/355441a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  43. Zhang X. K., Lehmann J., Hoffmann B., Dawson M. I., Cameron J., Graupner G., Hermann T., Tran P., Pfahl M. Homodimer formation of retinoid X receptor induced by 9-cis retinoic acid. Nature. 1992 Aug 13;358(6387):587–591. doi: 10.1038/358587a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  44. Zhang X. K., Tran P. B., Pfahl M. DNA binding and dimerization determinants for thyroid hormone receptor alpha and its interaction with a nuclear protein. Mol Endocrinol. 1991 Dec;5(12):1909–1920. doi: 10.1210/mend-5-12-1909. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Molecular and Cellular Biology are provided here courtesy of Taylor & Francis

RESOURCES