MCB
Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Maira, M.
Right arrow Articles by Drouin, J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Maira, M.
Right arrow Articles by Drouin, J.

Molecular and Cellular Biology, November 1999, p. 7549-7557, Vol. 19, No. 11
0270-7306/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Heterodimerization between Members of the Nur Subfamily of Orphan Nuclear Receptors as a Novel Mechanism for Gene Activation

Mario Maira, Christine Martens, Alexandre Philips, and Jacques Drouin*

Laboratoire de Génétique Moléculaire, Institut de Recherches Cliniques de Montréal, Montréal, Québec H2W 1R7, and Department of Biochemistry, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec H3C 3J7, Canada

Received 1 March 1999/Returned for modification 1 April 1999/Accepted 16 August 1999

We have recently shown that the orphan nuclear receptor Nur77 (NGFI-B) is most active in transcription when it is interacting with a cognate DNA sequence as a homodimer. Further, we have shown that the target for Nur77 dimers, the Nur response element (NurRE), is responsive to physiological stimuli in both endocrine and lymphoid cells, whereas other DNA targets of Nur77 action are not. The Nur77 subfamily also includes two related receptors, Nur-related factor 1 (Nurr1) and neuron-derived orphan receptor 1 (NOR-1). Often, more than one member of this subfamily is induced in response to extracellular signals. We now show that Nur77 and Nurr1 form heterodimers in vitro in the presence or absence of NurRE, and we have documented interactions between these proteins in vivo by using a two-hybrid system in mammalian cells. These heterodimers synergistically enhance transcription from NurRE reporters in comparison to that seen with homodimers. The naturally occurring NurRE from the pro-opiomelanocortin gene preferentially binds and activates transcription in the presence of Nur77 homo- or heterodimers, while a consensus NurRE sequence does not show this preference. Taken together, the data indicate that members of the Nur77 subfamily are most potent as heterodimers and that different dimers exhibit target sequence preference. Thus, we propose that a combinatorial code relying on specific NurRE sequences might be responsible for the activation of subsets of target genes by one of the members of the Nur77 subfamily of transcription factors.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Laboratoire de Génétique Moléculaire, Institut de Recherches Cliniques de Montréal, 110 des Pins Ouest, Montréal, Québec H2W 1R7, Canada. Phone: (514) 987-5680. Fax: (514) 987-5575. E-mail: drouinj{at}ircm.qc.ca.

Molecular and Cellular Biology, November 1999, p. 7549-7557, Vol. 19, No. 11
0270-7306/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:



Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
J. Bacteriol. J. Virol. Eukaryot. Cell
Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. Clin. Vaccine Immunol. All ASM Journals

Copyright © 1999 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.