title: Proliferin, a prolactin/growth hormone-like peptide represses myogenic-specific transcription by the suppression of an essential serum response factor-like DNA-binding activity.
abstract: Proliferin (PLF), a protein which has homology to PRL and GH, has been implicated in the regulation of cell growth and differentiation. PLF1 was detected and found to be differentially regulated during myogenesis in the rodent myogenic cell line C2C12. Transient and stable constitutive high level expression of PLF1 repressed expression of the transfected cardiac and skeletal alpha-actin myogenic-specific promoters, but did not affect expression of the cytoskeletal beta-actin and several viral promoters linked to CAT. Stable cotransfection analyses of 5' unidirectionally deleted actin promoters and a PLF expression vector indicated that PLF exerted its effect on transcription down-stream of nucleotide positions -177 and -154 with respect to the start of transcription at 1 in the cardiac and skeletal alpha-actin promoters. Analyses of cells stably transfected with PLF showed reduced levels of MyoD mRNA, a recently identified gene that is sufficient to convert pluripotential 10T1/2 cells into myoblasts. However, transient constitutive expression of MyoD by the Moloney sarcoma virus long terminal repeat did not override the effect of PLF. Electrophoretic mobility shift analysis of nuclear extracts from C2C12 cells stably transfected with a PLF expression vector displayed drastically reduced levels or activity of the CArG-binding factor (CBF) relative to the ubiquitously expressed transcription factor Oct-1. High affinity interaction between CBF and alpha-actin promoter sequences in vitro directly correlates with functional in vivo expression. CBF is a transcription factor that is sufficient and necessary for myogenic-specific transcription, interacts with the promoter sequences targeted by PLF, and is immunologically related to the serum response factor. In conclusion, PLF selectively represses myogenic-specific transcription within the actin multigene family by suppressing the level and/or activity of a trans-acting factor (CBF) that modulates multiple muscle-specific genes. The data provide a molecular explanation for the inhibition of differentiation by an endogenously produced growth factor/hormone that is differentially expressed during myogenesis and a physiologically important antagonistic regulator of muscle-specific transcription.
authors.affiliation: University of Queensland, Centre for Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Ritchie Research Laboratories, St. Lucia, Australia.
authors.forename: G E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Muscat
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gobius
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Emery
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002460:Cell Line; D015500:Chloramphenicol O-Acetyltransferase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000502:physiology*; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D013006:Growth Hormone / Q000235:genetics; D006133:Growth Substances / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D008980:Moloney murine sarcoma virus / Q000235:genetics; D009124:Muscle Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000502:physiology*; D009132:Muscles / Q000502:physiology*; D017570:MyoD Protein; D010957:Plasmids; D011388:Prolactin / Q000235:genetics; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000235:genetics; D011519:Proto-Oncogenes; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D006023:Glycoproteins; D006133:Growth Substances; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D009124:Muscle Proteins; D017570:MyoD Protein; C000634106:Prl2c2 protein, mouse; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011388:Prolactin; D013006:Growth Hormone; D015500:Chloramphenicol O-Acetyltransferase