title: The RXRalpha ligand-dependent activation function 2 (AF-2) is important for mouse development.
abstract: We have engineered a mouse mutation that specifically deletes the C-terminal 18 amino acid sequence of the RXRalpha protein. This deletion corresponds to the last helical alpha structure (H12) of the ligand-binding domain (LBD), and includes the core of the Activating Domain of the Activation Function 2 (AF-2 AD core) that is thought to be crucial in mediating ligand-dependent transactivation by RXRalpha. The homozygous mutants (RXRalpha af2(o)), which die during the late fetal period or at birth, exhibit a subset of the abnormalities previously observed in RXRalpha -/- mutants, often with incomplete penetrance. In marked contrast, RXRalpha af2(o)/RXRbeta -/- and RXRalpha af2(o)/RXRbeta -/- /RXRgamma -/- compound mutants display a large array of malformations, which nearly recapitulate the full spectrum of the defects that characterize the fetal vitamin A-deficiency (VAD) syndrome and were previously found in RAR single and compound mutants, as well as in RXRalpha/RAR(alpha, beta or gamma) compound mutants. Analysis of RXRalpha af2(o)/RAR(alpha, beta or gamma) compound mutants also revealed that they exhibit many of the defects observed in the corresponding RXR alpha/RAR compound mutants. Together, these results demonstrate the importance of the integrity of RXR AF-2 for the developmental functions mediated by RAR/RXR heterodimers, and hence suggest that RXR ligand-dependent transactivation is instrumental in retinoid signalling during development.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, CNRS-INSERM-ULP-Collège de France, BP163, CU de Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mascrez
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mark
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dierich
authors.forename: N B
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Ghyselinck
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kastner
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chambon
mesh_terms: D000015:Abnormalities, Multiple / Q000235:genetics*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001483:Base Sequence; D017931:DNA Primers; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D003643:Death; D005314:Embryonic and Fetal Development / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005313:Fetal Death / Q000235:genetics; D015698:Genomic Library; D006720:Homozygote; D008024:Ligands; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D011247:Pregnancy; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D018168:Receptors, Retinoic Acid / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D047488:Retinoid X Receptors; D017384:Sequence Deletion; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D015533:Transcriptional Activation; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D008024:Ligands; D018168:Receptors, Retinoic Acid; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D047488:Retinoid X Receptors; D014157:Transcription Factors