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Molecular and Cellular Biology, November 2000, p. 8499-8512, Vol. 20, No. 22
Cell Regulation Section, Metabolic Diseases
Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney
Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892
Received 22 May 2000/Returned for modification 26 June
2000/Accepted 21 August 2000
Follicular thyroglobulin (TG) selectively suppresses the expression
of thyroid-restricted transcription factors, thereby altering the
expression of thyroid-specific proteins. In this study, we investigated
the molecular mechanism by which TG suppresses the prototypic
thyroid-restricted transcription factor, thyroid transcription factor 1 (TTF-1), in rat FRTL-5 thyrocytes. We show that the region between bp
0270-7306/00/$04.00+0
Thyroglobulin Repression of Thyroid Transcription Factor 1 (TTF-1) Gene Expression Is Mediated by Decreased DNA Binding of Nuclear
Factor I Proteins Which Control Constitutive TTF-1 Expression
264 and
153 on the TTF-1 promoter contains two nuclear factor I
(NFI) elements whose function is involved in TG-mediated suppression.
Thus, NFI binding to these elements is critical for constitutive
expression of TTF-1; TG decreases NFI binding to the NFI elements in
association with TG repression. NFI is a family of transcription
factors that is ubiquitously expressed and contributes to constitutive
and cell-specific gene expression. In contrast to the contribution of
NFI proteins to constitutive gene expression in other systems, we
demonstrate that follicular TG transcriptionally represses all NFI RNAs
(NFI-A, -B, -C, and -X) in association with decreased NFI binding and
that the RNA levels decrease as early as 4 h after TG treatment.
Although TG treatment for 48 h results in a decrease in NFI
protein-DNA complexes measured in DNA mobility shift assays, NFI
proteins are still detectable by Western analysis. We show, however,
that the binding of all NFI proteins is redox regulated. Thus, diamide
treatment of nuclear extracts strongly reduces the binding of NFI
proteins, and the addition of higher concentrations of dithiothreitol
to nuclear extracts from TG-treated cells restores NFI-DNA binding to
levels in extracts from untreated cells. We conclude that NFI binding to two NFI elements, at bp
264 to
153, positively regulates TTF-1
expression and controls constitutive TTF-1 levels. TG mediates the
repression of TTF-1 gene expression by decreasing NFI RNA and protein
levels, as well as by altering the binding activity of NFI, which is
redox controlled.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Cell Regulation
Section, Metabolic Diseases Branch, NIDDK, Bldg. 10, Room 9C101B, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892-1800. Phone: (301) 496-3564. Fax: (301) 496-0200. E-mail: Lenk{at}bdg10.niddk.nih.gov.
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