title: Cooperativity and hierarchical levels of functional organization in the SV40 enhancer.
abstract: We have investigated the cell-specific activity of the GT-IIC, GT-I, Sph-II, Sph-I, and octamer motifs of the SV40 enhancer in four cell lines (HeLa cells, MPC11 plasmocytoma B cells, and non-differentiated and retinoic acid-differentiated F9 embryonal carcinoma cells). Our present results reveal the existence of three classes of motifs that interact with cell-specific enhancer factors but that have no enhancer activity of their own: those (class A) that generate enhancer activity following oligomerization of tandem repeats of the motif; those (class B) that cannot enhance transcription when oligomerized as a tandem repeat but whose association with a second motif results in transcription activation after oligomerization; and those (class C) that exhibit enhancer activity when a single copy of the motif is oligomerized. Three levels of functional organization of enhancers can also be defined. The possible implications for enhancer functions are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Génétique Moléculaire des Eucaryotes du CNRS, Faculté de Médecine, Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fromental
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kanno
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nomiyama
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chambon
mesh_terms: D000494:Allosteric Regulation; D001483:Base Sequence; D002460:Cell Line; D004274:DNA, Recombinant; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D004742:Enhancer Elements, Genetic; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010957:Plasmids; D012045:Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid; D013539:Simian virus 40 / Q000235:genetics*; D013698:Templates, Genetic; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D004274:DNA, Recombinant; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins