title: The major transcription initiation site of the SV40 late promoter is a potent thyroid hormone response element.
abstract: Thyroid hormone receptors (TRs) are members of the nuclear hormone receptor superfamily, which act as transcription factors upon binding to specific DNA sequences called thyroid hormone (T3) response elements (TREs). Such elements are found in the upstream regulatory region of promoters as well as in intragenic sequences of T3-responsive genes. In this report, we demonstrate that SV40 late (SVL) promoter activity is strongly down-regulated by TR in the absence of ligand. Addition of T3 releases this repression, but does not further induce SVL promoter activity. Electrophoretic mobility shift analyses reveal a TR binding element that overlaps with the SV40 major late transcription initiation site. This element closely fits the consensus TRE, formed of two hexanucleotides organized in a tandem repeat separated by 4 nt, and is able to confer T3 responsiveness on a heterologous promoter. We further show that, although the presence of TR leads to quantitatively modified expression of an SVL-driven reporter gene, neither displacement of the site of transcription initiation nor modification of the splicing pattern of the primary transcripts occur.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Biologie Animale, Université de Lausanne, Bâtiment de Biologie, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland. beatrice.desvergne@iba.unil.ch
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Desvergne
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Favez
mesh_terms: D016475:3T3 Cells; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015500:Chloramphenicol O-Acetyltransferase / Q000235:genetics; D004279:DNA, Viral; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011485:Protein Binding; D012326:RNA Splicing; D018168:Receptors, Retinoic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D011988:Receptors, Thyroid Hormone / Q000378:metabolism; D047488:Retinoid X Receptors; D013539:Simian virus 40 / Q000235:genetics*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014284:Triiodothyronine / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D018168:Receptors, Retinoic Acid; D011988:Receptors, Thyroid Hormone; D047488:Retinoid X Receptors; D014157:Transcription Factors; D014284:Triiodothyronine; D015500:Chloramphenicol O-Acetyltransferase