Eva Henderson

Functional Characterization of the Transactivation Properties of the PDX-1 Homeodomain Protein

Pancreas formation is prevented in mice carrying a null mutation in the PDX-1 homeoprotein, demonstrating a key role for this factor in development. PDX-1 can also bind to and activate transcription from cis-acting regulatory sequences in the insulin and somatostatin genes, which are expressed in pancreatic islet beta and delta cells, respectively. In this study, we compared the functional properties of PDX-1 with those of the closely related Xenopus homeoprotein XIHbox8. Analysis of chimeras between PDX-1, XIHbox8, and the DNA-binding domain of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae transcription factor GAL4 revealed that their transactivation domain was contained within the N-terminal region (amino acids 1 to 79). Detailed mutagenesis of this region indicated that transactivation is mediated by three highly conserved sequences, spanning amino acids 13 to 22 (subdomain A), 32 to 38 (subdomain B), and 60 to 73 (subdomain C). These sequences were also required by PDX-1 to synergistically activate insulin enhancer-mediated transcription with another key insulin gene activator, the E2A-encoded basic helix-loop-helix E2-5 and E47 proteins. These results indicated that N-terminal sequences conserved between the mammalian PDX-1 and Xenopus XIHbox8 proteins are important in transcriptional activation. Stable expression of the PDX-1 deltaABC mutant in the insulin- and PDX-1-expressing betaTC3 cell line resulted in a threefold reduction in the rate of endogenous insulin gene transcription. Strikingly, the level of the endogenous PDX-1 protein was reduced to very low levels in these cells. These results suggest that PDX-1 is not absolutely essential for insulin gene expression in betaTC3 cells. We discuss the possible significance of these findings for insulin gene transcription in islet beta cells.

FoxA2, Nkx2.2, and PDX-1 Regulate Islet β-Cell-Specific mafA Expression through Conserved Sequences Located between Base Pairs −8118 and −7750 Upstream from the Transcription Start Site

ABSTRACT The MafA transcription factor is both critical to islet β-cell function and has a unique pancreatic cell-type-specific expression pattern. To localize the potential transcriptional regulatory region(s) involved in directing expression to the β cell, areas of identity within the 5′ flanking region of the mouse, human, and rat mafA genes were found between nucleotides −9389 and −9194, −8426 and −8293, −8118 and −7750, −6622 and −6441, −6217 and −6031, and −250 and +56 relative to the transcription start site. The identity between species was greater than 75%, with the highest found between bp −8118 and −7750 (∼94%, termed region 3). Region 3 was the only upstream mammalian conserved region found in chicken mafA (88% identity). In addition, region 3 uniquely displayed β-cell-specific activity in cell-line-based reporter assays. Important regulators of β-cell formation and function, PDX-1, FoxA2, and Nkx2.2, were shown to specifically bind to region 3 in vivo using the chromatin immunoprecipitation assay. Mutational and functional analyses demonstrated that FoxA2 (bp −7943 to −7910), Nkx2.2 (bp −7771 to −7746), and PDX-1 (bp −8087 to −8063) mediated region 3 activation. Consistent with a role in transcription, small interfering RNA-mediated knockdown of PDX-1 led to decreased mafA mRNA production in INS-1-derived β-cell lines (832/13 and 832/3), while MafA expression was undetected in the pancreatic epithelium of Nkx2.2 null animals. These results suggest that β-cell-type-specific mafA transcription is principally controlled by region 3-acting transcription factors that are essential in the formation of functional β cells.

Identification of a pancreatic beta-cell insulin gene transcription factor that binds to and appears to activate cell-type-specific expression: its possible relationship to other cellular factors that bind to a common insulin gene sequence.

The insulin gene is expressed almost exclusively in pancreatic beta-cells. Previous work in our laboratory has shown that pancreatic beta-cell-specific expression of the rat insulin II gene is controlled by a number of positive and negative cis-acting DNA elements within the enhancer. We have shown that one element within the enhancer, located between nucleotides -100 and -91 (GCCATCTGCT; referred to as the insulin control element [ICE]) relative to the transcription start site, is controlled by both positive- and negative-acting cellular transcription factors. The positive-acting factor appears to be uniquely active in beta-cells. To identify the nucleotides within the ICE that mediate positive cell-type-specific regulation, point mutations within this element were generated and assayed for their effects on expression. Base pairs -97, -94, -93, and -92 were found to be crucial for the activator function of this region, while mutations at base pairs -100, -96, and -91 had little or no effect on activity. The gel mobility shift assay was used to determine whether specific cellular factors associated directly with the ICE. Several specific protein-DNA complexes were detected in extracts prepared from insulin-producing and non-insulin-producing cells, including a complex unique to beta-cell extracts. The ability of unlabeled wild-type and point mutant versions of the ICE to compete for binding to these cellular factors demonstrated that the beta-cell-specific complex appears to contain the insulin gene activator protein(s). Interestingly, the adenovirus type 2 major late promoter upstream element (USE; GCCACGTGAC) also competed in the gel mobility shift assay for binding of cellular proteins to the ICE. These results suggested that the cellular factor that binds to the USE (i.e., USF) also interacts with the ICE. This was directly demonstrated by showing that ICE and USE sequences completed for the USF required for adenovirus type 2 major late promoter transcription in vitro and by showing that reticulocyte lysate-translated human USF products bound to the ICE. However, the USE sequences were unable to stimulate beta-cell-type-specific activity in vivo. We discuss the possible relationship of these observations to positive and negative control mediated by the ICE.

The Islet β Cell-enriched RIPE3b1/Maf Transcription Factor Regulates pdx-1 Expression

Pancreatic duodenal homeobox factor-1, PDX-1, is required for pancreas development, islet cell differentiation, and the maintenance of β cell function. Selective expression in the pancreas appears to be principally regulated by Area II, one of four conserved regulatory sequence domains found within the 5′-flanking region of thepdx-1 gene. Detailed mutagenesis studies have identified potential sites of interaction for both positive- and negative-acting factors within the conserved sequence blocks of Area II. The islet β cell-enriched RIPE3b1 transcription factor, the activator of insulin C1 element-driven expression, was shown here to also stimulate Area II by binding to sequence blocks 4 and 5 (termed B4/5). Accordingly, B4/5 DNA-binding proteins molecular mass (i.e. 46 kDa), binding specificity, and islet β cell-enriched distribution were identical to RIPE3b1. Area II-mediated activation was also unaffected upon replacing B4/5 with the insulin C1/RIPE3b1 binding site. In addition, the chromatin immunoprecipitation assay showed that the Area II region of the endogenous pdx-1 gene was precipitated by an antiserum that recognizes the large Maf protein that comprises the RIPE3b1 transcription factor. These results strongly suggest that RIPE3b1/Maf has an important role in generating and maintaining physiologically functional β cells.

Upstream stimulatory factor (USF) and neurogenic differentiation/beta-cell E box transactivator 2 (NeuroD/BETA2) contribute to islet-specific glucose-6-phosphatase catalytic-subunit-related protein (IGRP) gene expression.

Islet-specific glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase) catalytic-subunit-related protein (IGRP) is a homologue of the catalytic subunit of G6Pase, the enzyme that catalyses the final step of the gluconeogenic pathway. The analysis of IGRP-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) fusion-gene expression through transient transfection of islet-derived beta TC-3 cells revealed that multiple promoter regions, located between -306 and -97, are required for maximal IGRP-CAT fusion-gene expression. These regions correlated with trans -acting factor-binding sites in the IGRP promoter that were identified in beta TC-3 cells in situ using the ligation-mediated PCR (LMPCR) footprinting technique. However, the LMPCR data also revealed additional trans -acting factor-binding sites located between -97 and +1 that overlap two E-box motifs, even though this region by itself conferred minimal fusion-gene expression. The data presented here show that these E-box motifs are important for IGRP promoter activity, but that their action is only manifest in the presence of distal promoter elements. Thus mutation of either E-box motif in the context of the -306 to +3 IGRP promoter region reduces fusion-gene expression. These two E-box motifs have distinct sequences and preferentially bind NeuroD/BETA2 (neurogenic differentiation/beta-cell E box transactivator 2) and upstream stimulatory factor (USF) in vitro, consistent with the binding of both factors to the IGRP promoter in situ, as determined using the chromatin-immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay. Based on experiments using mutated IGRP promoter constructs, we propose a model to explain how the ubiquitously expressed USF could contribute to islet-specific IGRP gene expression.

Identification of a Novel PDX-1 Binding Site in the Human Insulin Gene Enhancer

Islet β cell type-specific transcription of the insulin gene is regulated by a number of cis-acting elements found within the proximal 5′-flanking region. The control sequences conserved between mammalian insulin genes are acted upon by transcription factors, like PDX-1 and BETA-2, that are also involved in islet β cell function and formation. In the current study, we investigated the contribution to human insulin expression of the GG2 motif found between nucleotides -145 and -140 relative to the transcription start site. Site-specific mutants were generated within GG2 that displayed a parallel increase (i.e. -144 base pair) or decrease (i.e. -141 base pair) in insulin enhancer-driven reporter and gel shift binding activity in β cells consistent with human GG2 being under positive regulatory control. In contrast, the corresponding site in the rodent insulin gene, which only differs from the human at nucleotides -144 and -141, is negatively regulated by the Nkx2.2 transcription factor (Cissell, M. A., Zhao, L., Sussel, L., Henderson, E., and Stein, R. (2003) J. Biol. Chem. 278, 751-756). Human GG2 activator binding activity was present in nuclear extracts prepared from human islets and enriched in those from rodent β cell lines. The human GG2 activator binding factor(s) was shown to be ∼38-40 kDa and distinct from other size-matched islet-enriched transcription factors, including Nkx2.2, Pax-4, Cdx2/3, and Isl-1. Combined DNA chromatographic purification and mass spectrometry analysis revealed that the GG2 activator was PDX-1. These results demonstrate that the GG2 element, despite its divergence from the core homeodomain consensus binding motif, is a site for PDX-1 activation in the human insulin gene.

Islet β-Cell-Specific MafA Transcription Requires the 5′-Flanking Conserved Region 3 Control Domain

ABSTRACT MafA is a key transcriptional activator of islet β cells, and its exclusive expression within β cells of the developing and adult pancreas is distinct among pancreatic regulators. Region 3 (base pairs −8118 to −7750 relative to the transcription start site), one of six conserved 5′ cis domains of the MafA promoter, is capable of directing β-cell-line-selective expression. Transgenic reporters of region 3 alone (R3), sequences spanning regions 1 to 6 (R1-6; base pairs −10428 to +230), and R1-6 lacking R3 (R1-6ΔR3) were generated. Only the R1-6 transgene was active in MafA+ insulin+ cells during development and in adult cells. R1-6 also mediated glucose-induced MafA expression. Conversely, pancreatic expression was not observed with the R3 or R1-6ΔR3 line, although much of the nonpancreatic expression pattern was shared between the R1-6 and R1-6ΔR3 lines. Further support for the importance of R3 was also shown, as the islet regulators Nkx6.1 and Pax6, but not NeuroD1, activated MafA in gel shift, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), and transfection assays and in vivo mouse knockout models. Lastly, ChIP demonstrated that Pax6 and Pdx-1 also bound to R1 and R6, potentially functioning in pancreatic and nonpancreatic expression. These data highlight the nature of the cis- and trans-acting factors controlling the β-cell-specific expression of MafA.

MafA and MafB Regulate Pdx1 Transcription through the Area II Control Region in Pancreatic β Cells

Pancreatic-duodenal homeobox factor-1 (Pdx1) is highly enriched in islet β cells and integral to proper cell development and adult function. Of the four conserved 5′-flanking sequence blocks that contribute to transcription in vivo, Area II (mouse base pairs -2153/-1923) represents the only mammalian specific control domain. Here we demonstrate that regulation of β-cell-enriched Pdx1 expression by the MafA and MafB transcription factors is exclusively through Area II. Thus, these factors were found to specifically activate through Area II in cell line transfection-based assays, and MafA, which is uniquely expressed in adult islet β cells was only bound to this region in quantitative chromatin immunoprecipitation studies. MafA and MafB are produced in β cells during development and were both bound to Area II at embryonic day 18.5. Expression of a transgene driven by Pdx1 Areas I and II was also severely compromised during insulin+ cell formation in MafB-/- mice, consistent with the importance of this large Maf in β-cell production and Pdx1 expression. These findings illustrate the significance of large Maf proteins to Pdx1 expression in β cells, and in particular MafB during pancreatic development.

c-jun inhibits transcriptional activation by the insulin enhancer, and the insulin control element is the target of control

Selective transcription of the insulin gene in pancreatic beta cells is regulated by its enhancer, located between nucleotides -340 and -91 relative to the transcription start site. One of the principal control elements within the enhancer is found between nucleotides -100 and -91 (GCCATCTGCT, referred to as the insulin control element [ICE]) and is regulated by both positive- and negative-acting transcription factors in the helix-loop-helix (HLH) family. It was previously shown that the c-jun proto-oncogene can repress insulin gene transcription. We have found that c-jun inhibits ICE-stimulated transcription. Inhibition of ICE-directed transcription is mediated by sequences within the carboxy-terminal region of the protein. These c-jun sequences span an activation domain and the basic leucine zipper DNA binding-dimerization region of the protein. Both regions of c-jun are conserved within the other members of the jun family: junB and junD. These proteins also suppress ICE-mediated transcription. The jun proteins do not appear to inhibit insulin gene transcription by binding directly to the ICE. c-jun and junB also block the trans-activation potential of two skeletal muscle-specific HLH proteins, MyoD and myogenin. These results suggests that the jun proteins may be common transcription control factors used in skeletal muscle and pancreatic beta cells to regulate HLH-mediated activity. We discuss the possible significance of these observations to insulin gene transcription in pancreatic beta cells.

c-Jun Inhibits Insulin Control Element-Mediated Transcription by Affecting the Transactivation Potential of the E2A Gene Products

Pancreatic beta-cell-type-specific transcription of the insulin gene is principally controlled by trans-acting factors which influence insulin control element (ICE)-mediated expression. The ICE activator is composed, in part, of the basic helix-loop-helix proteins E12, E47, and E2-5 encoded by the E2A gene. Previous experiments showed that ICE activation in beta cells was repressed in vivo by the c-jun proto-oncogene (E. Henderson and R. Stein, Mol. Cell. Biol. 14:655-662, 1994). Here we focus on the mechanism by which c-Jun inhibits ICE-mediated activation. c-Jun was shown to specifically repress the transactivation potential of the E2A proteins. Thus, we found that the activity of GAL4:E2A fusion constructs was inhibited by c-Jun. The transrepression capabilities of c-Jun were detected only in pancreatic islet cell lines that contained a functional ICE activator. Repression of GAL4:E2A was mediated by the basic leucine zipper regions of c-Jun, which are also the essential regions of this protein necessary for controlling ICE activator-stimulated expression in vivo. The specific target of c-Jun repression was the transactivation domain (located between amino acids 345 and 408 in E12 and E47) conserved in E12, E47, and E2-5. In contrast, the activation domain unique to the E12 and E47 proteins (located between amino acids 1 and 99) was unresponsive to c-Jun. Our results indicate that c-Jun inhibits insulin gene transcription in beta cells by reducing the transactivation potential of the E2A proteins present in the ICE activator complex.