title: The role of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator (ARNT) in hypoxic induction of gene expression. Studies in ARNT-deficient cells.
abstract: Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1), a DNA-binding complex implicated in the regulation of gene expression by oxygen, has been shown to consist of a heterodimer of two basic helix-loop-helix Per-AHR-ARNT-Sim (PAS) proteins, HIF-1alpha, and HIF-1beta. One partner, HIF-1beta, had been recognized previously as the aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator (ARNT), an essential component of the xenobiotic response. In the present work, ARNT-deficient mutant cells, originally derived from the mouse hepatoma line Hepa1c1c7, have been used to analyze the role of ARNT/HIF-1beta in oxygen-regulated gene expression. Two stimuli were examined: hypoxia itself and desferrioxamine, an iron-chelating agent that also activates HIF-1. Induction of the DNA binding and transcriptional activity of HIF-1 was absent in the mutant cells, indicating an essential role for ARNT/HIF-1beta. Analysis of deleted ARNT/HIF-1beta genes indicated that the basic, helix-loop-helix, and PAS domains, but not the amino or carboxyl termini, were necessary for function in the response to hypoxia. Comparison of gene expression in wild type and mutant cells demonstrated the critical importance of ARNT/HIF-1beta in the hypoxic induction of a wide variety of genes. Nevertheless, for some genes a reduced response to hypoxia and desferrioxamine persisted in these mutant cells, clearly distinguishing ARNT/HIF-1beta-dependent and ARNT/HIF-1beta-independent mechanisms of gene activation by both these stimuli.
authors.affiliation: Erythropoietin Group, Institute of Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DU, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Gleadle
authors.forename: C W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Pugh
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Hankinson
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Ratcliffe
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D051784:Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Nuclear Translocator; D001483:Base Sequence; D015687:Cell Hypoxia; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D003676:Deferoxamine / Q000494:pharmacology; D017353:Gene Deletion; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000187:drug effects; D018257:Helix-Loop-Helix Motifs; D051793:Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1; D051795:Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit; D008114:Liver Neoplasms, Experimental; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D018336:Receptors, Aryl Hydrocarbon; D017384:Sequence Deletion; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000172:deficiency*; D015533:Transcriptional Activation; D014162:Transfection; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: C497397:Arnt protein, mouse; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C497443:Hif1a protein, mouse; D051793:Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1; D051795:Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D018336:Receptors, Aryl Hydrocarbon; D014157:Transcription Factors; D051784:Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Nuclear Translocator; D003676:Deferoxamine