The myeloid-lineage specific enhancer of the mouse myeloperoxidase gene consists of three cis-elements defined as in vitro DNase I footprints

A novel protein-DNA interaction involved with the CpG dinucleotide at -30 upstream is linked to the DNA methylation mediated transcription silencing of the MAGE-A1 gene

To understand the DNA-methylation mediated gene silencing mechanisms, we analyzed in cell culture of the promoter function of the MAGE-A1 gene, which is frequently demethylated and over-expressed in human hepatocellular carcinoma. We have established the correlation of the DNA methylation of the promoter CpG island with expression status of this gene in a panel of the established liver cancer cell lines. The crucial CpG dinucleotide(s) within the minimal promoter subjected to the control mediated by DNA methylation with profound biological functions was also delineated. Furthermore, a novel sequence-specific DNA-protein interaction at the -30 CpG dinucleotide upstream of the gene was found having a vital part to play in the DNA methylation mediated transcription silencing of the MAGE-A1 gene. Our results would not only provide new insights into the DNA methylation mediated mechanisms over transcription of the MAGE-A1 gene, but also pave the way for further defining the cross-talk among DNA methylation, histone modification and chromatin remodeling in detail.

The ATF/CREB site is the key element for transcription of the human RNA methyltransferase like 1(RNMTL1) gene, a newly discovered 17p13.3 gene

The human RNA methyltransferase like 1 gene (RNMTL1) is one of thirteen newly discovered genes within a 116 Kb segment of the chromosome 17p13.3 that suffers from a high frequent loss of heterozygosity in human hepatocellular carcinoma in China[1-5]. To understand the molecular mechanisms underlying transcription control of the RNMTL1 gene in human cancers, we decline using of the conventional approach where the cis-elements bound by the known transcription factors are primary targets, and carried out the systematic analyses to dissect the promoter structure and identify/characterize the key cis-elements that are responsible for its strong expression in cell. The molecular approaches applied included 1, the primer extension for mapping of the transcription starts; 2, the transient transfection/reporter assays on a large number of deletion and site-specific mutants of the promoter segment for defining the minimal promoter and the crucial elements within; and 3, the electrophoresis mobility shift assay with specific antibodies for reconfirming the nature of the transcription factors and their cognate cis-elements. We have shown that the interaction of an ATF/CREB element (-38 to -31) and its cognate transcription factors play a predominant role in the promoter activity of the RNMTL1 gene. The secondary DNA structures of the ATF/CREB element play a more vital role in the protein-DNA interaction. Finally, we reported a novel mechanism underlying the YY1 mediated transcription repression, namely, the ATF/CREB dependent transcription-repression by YY1 is executed in absence of its own sequence-specific binding.

Myeloid cell-lineage and premylocytic-stage-specific- expression of themouse myeloperoxidase gene is controlled at initiation as well as elongation levels of transcription

The myeloperoxidase (MPO) is an important microbicidal protein present at high concentration in the primary granule of mature granulocyte and its expression is regulated in both myeloidcell-lineage and premyelocytic-stage-specific manners. A better understanding of the underlying control mechanisms should provide insights into the temporal and co-ordinate regulation of the gene expression during granulopoiesis. We have identified its promoter by mapping the start(s) of transcription using various molecular approaches together with demonstrating the promoter function of the relevant DNA segment in a transient transfection reporter assay. Besides the major start of transcription mapped at G residue, 11 nucleotide upstream of the 3' end of exon 0, the usage of that is specific to the MPO expressing cell lines, we have shown that irrespective of the MPO-expression status of the hematopoietic cells, transcription occurs broadly within a two kb region upstream of the 5' proximity of the gene, and is largely terminated in intron 2. These data support a model of the premyelocytic-stage-specific MPO expression, the control of which is operated at initiation as well as elongation levels of transcription.

Identification of an upstream enhancer containing an AML1 site in the human myeloperoxidase (MPO) gene

Myeloperoxidase (MPO) is an important antibacterial enzyme found only in granulocytes and monocytes. The human MPO gene is transcribed early during myelogenesis but MPO RNA synthesis ceases at the end of the promyelocyte stage of myeloid maturation. We recently identified a basal MPO promoter and several adjacent cis-elements in the proximal 5'-flanking region of this gene. Transfection studies using constructs containing several kb of 5'-flanking MPO DNA revealed the presence of a DNA segment located between bp (base pair) -4200 and bp -3800 with enhancer activity for the endogenous basal MPO promoter. Deletion studies revealed the core enhancer activity to lie between bp -4100 and bp -3844. The percentage enhancement of promoter activity is greater in MPO-expressing myeloid cells than in MPO-non-expressing myeloid cells or non-myeloid cells. Furthermore. the enhancer confers TPA- or DMSO-responsiveness upon either endogenous or exogenous promoters. DNase I footprinting and transfection experiments identified an AML1 site as a functionally important element within the enhancer. Gelshift competition and supershift experiments demonstrated the binding of the alpha subunit of the transcription factor AML1 to this site in HL-60 cells. This distal enhancer appears likely to play an important role in the control of MPO transcription during myeloid differentiation.

Regulation of the myeloperoxidase enhancer binding proteins Pu1, C-EBP alpha, -beta, and -delta during granulocyte-lineage specification

We have compared the molecular architecture and function of the myeloperoxidase upstream enhancer in multipotential versus granulocyte-committed hematopoietic progenitor cells. We show that the enhancer is accessible in multipotential cell chromatin but functionally incompetent before granulocyte commitment. Multipotential cells contain both Pu1 and C-EBP alpha as enhancer-binding activities. Pu1 is unphosphorylated in both multipotential and granulocyte-committed cells but is phosphorylated in B lymphocytes, raising the possibility that differential phosphorylation may play a role in specifying its lymphoid versus myeloid functions. C-EBP alpha exists as multiple phosphorylated forms in the nucleus of both multipotential and granulocyte-committed cells. C-EBP beta is unphosphorylated and cytoplasmically localized in multipotential cells but exists as a phosphorylated nuclear enhancer-binding activity in granulocyte-committed cells. Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor-induced granulocytic differentiation of multipotential progenitor cells results in activation of C-EBP delta expression and functional recruitment of C-EBP delta and C-EBP beta to the nucleus. Our results implicate Pu1 and the C-EBP family as critical regulators of myeloperoxidase gene expression and are consistent with a model in which a temporal exchange of C-EBP isoforms at the myeloperoxidase enhancer mediates the transition from a primed state in multipotential cells to a transcriptionally active configuration in promyelocytes.