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Mol. Cell. Biol., Jan 1995, 26-34, Vol 15, No. 1
JS Mymryk, D Berard, GL Hager and TK Archer
We have stably introduced a reporter gene under the control of the mouse
mammary tumor virus (MMTV) long terminal repeat (LTR) into human T47D
breast cancer cells to study the action of the progesterone receptor (PR)
on transcription from a chromatin template. Unexpectedly, the chromatin
organization of the MMTV LTR in these human breast cancer cells differed
markedly from what we have observed previously. The region adjacent to the
transcription start site (-221 to -75) was found to be constitutively
hypersensitive to restriction enzyme cleavage in the absence of hormone.
This region is normally encompassed within the second nucleosome of a
phased array of six nucleosomes that is assembled when the MMTV LTR is
stably maintained in mouse cells. Characteristically, in these rodent
cells, the identical DNA sequences show increased restriction enzyme
cleavage only in the presence of glucocorticoid. The increased access of
restriction enzymes observed in the human PR+ cells was not observed in
adjacent nucleosomes and was unaffected by treatment with the progesterone
antagonist RU486. In addition, exonuclease III-dependent stops
corresponding to the binding sites for nuclear factor 1 and the PR were
observed before and after hormone treatment. These results indicate that
MMTV chromatin replicated in these cells is organized into a constitutively
open architecture and that this open chromatin state is accompanied by
hormone-independent loading of a transcription factor complex that is
normally excluded from uninduced chromatin.
Copyright © 1995, American Society for Microbiology
Mouse mammary tumor virus chromatin in human breast cancer cells is constitutively hypersensitive and exhibits steroid hormone-independent loading of transcription factors in vivo
Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.
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