title: Ligand-independent activation of the oestrogen receptor by mutation of a conserved tyrosine.
abstract: The oestrogen receptor is a member of the nuclear receptor family of transcription factors which, on binding the steroid hormone 17beta-oestradiol, interacts with co-activator proteins and stimulates gene expression. Replacement of a single tyrosine in the hormone-binding domain generated activated forms of the receptor which stimulated transcription in the absence of hormone. This increased activation is related to a decrease in hydrophobicity and a reduction in size of the side chain of the amino acid with which the tyrosine is replaced. Ligand-independent, in common with ligand-dependent transcriptional activation, requires an amphipathic alpha-helix at the C-terminus of the ligand-binding domain which is essential for the interaction of the receptor with a number of potential co-activator proteins. In contrast to the wild-type protein, constitutively active receptors were able to bind both the receptor-interacting protein RIP-140 and the steroid receptor co-activator SRC-1 in a ligand-independent manner, although in the case of SRC-1 this was only evident when the receptors were prebound to DNA. We propose, therefore, that this tyrosine is required to maintain the receptor in a transcriptionally inactive state in the absence of hormone. Modification of this residue may generate a conformational change in the ligand-binding domain of the receptor to form an interacting surface which allows the recruitment of co-activators independent of hormone binding. This suggests that this tyrosine may be a target for a different signalling pathway which forms an alternative mechanism of activating oestrogen receptor-mediated transcription.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Endocrinology Laboratory, Imperial Cancer Research Fund, London, UK.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sjöberg
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kalkhoven
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Parker
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites / Q000235:genetics; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism; D006367:HeLa Cells; D051548:Histone Acetyltransferases; D006801:Humans; D008024:Ligands; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D009154:Mutation; D028861:Nuclear Pore Complex Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D056920:Nuclear Receptor Coactivator 1; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics; D011485:Protein Binding; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D015533:Transcriptional Activation; D014162:Transfection; D014443:Tyrosine / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: C119724:AGFG1 protein, human; D008024:Ligands; D028861:Nuclear Pore Complex Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen; D014157:Transcription Factors; D014443:Tyrosine; D004247:DNA; D051548:Histone Acetyltransferases; C538859:NCOA1 protein, human; C538861:Ncoa1 protein, mouse; D056920:Nuclear Receptor Coactivator 1