title: Ini, a small nuclear protein that enhances the response of the connexin43 gene to estrogen.
abstract: This article describes the structural and functional characterization of Ini (AF495522), a novel highly conserved zinc-finger protein that had been identified by screening an estrogen-induced rat myometrial expression library. Ini localizes to the nucleus of HeLa cells and binds to the proximal connexin43 (cx43) promoter, as demonstrated by EMSA. In addition, transient transfection experiments performed with estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) cDNA show that overexpression of Ini enhances, in a dose-dependent fashion, the up-regulation of the cx43 gene by estrogen. On binding to the cx43 promoter, Ini stimulates the transcriptional activating function (AF)-1, but not the AF-2, of the ERalpha. This makes Ini one of the few known coactivators specific for AF-1. Because estrogen up-regulates Ini mRNA in the myometrium, it is likely that Ini's physiological role in this tissue is to modulate the response of the cx43 gene to estrogen. Transfection studies with an Ini antisense construct seem to indicate that Ini plays an additional role in the cellular response to estrogen affecting both AF-1 and AF-2 activities of the ERalpha. This broader effect may be associated with cell cycle progression that in yeast has been shown to require Ini.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Florida 33101, USA.
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Oltra
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pfeifer
authors.forename: Rudolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Werner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019556:COS Cells; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D018031:Connexin 43 / Q000235:genetics*; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D047628:Estrogen Receptor alpha; D004967:Estrogens / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000502:physiology; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D051381:Rats; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D014599:Uterus / Q000502:physiology; D016335:Zinc Fingers / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D018031:Connexin 43; D047628:Estrogen Receptor alpha; D004967:Estrogens; C475659:Ini protein, rat; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen