title: Modulator recognition factor 1, an AT-rich interaction domain family member, is a novel corepressor for estrogen receptor alpha.
abstract: Cardiovascular tissues are important targets of estrogen action. Vascular cells express the two known estrogen receptors (ERs), ERalpha and ERbeta, ligand-activated transcription factors that regulate gene transcription through interactions with both coactivator and corepressor molecules. To isolate ERalpha coregulators in vascular cells, we performed a yeast two-hybrid screen for ERalpha-interacting proteins using a human aorta library. Here we report the identification of modulator recognition factor 1 (MRF1) as an ERalpha-interacting corepressor protein. Full-length MRF1 binds to both the N terminus and the C terminus of ERalpha. ERalpha and MRF1 coimmunoprecipitate in an estradiol-independent manner, and recombinant ERalpha binds to both full-length and COOH-terminal MRF1 in the absence of estradiol. MRF1 also interacts in a ligand-dependent manner with thyroid receptor alpha, retinoid X receptor alpha, and androgen receptor, and in a ligand-independent manner with ERbeta and the retinoic acid receptor. MRF1 RNA is highly expressed in aorta, heart, skeletal muscle, and liver. MRF1 has intrinsic repressor activity in an in vitro GAL reporter assay. Transient transfection studies show that MRF1 represses transcription by ERalpha activated by estradiol in a dose-dependent manner, as well as by the selective ER modulators 4-hydroxy-tamoxifen and raloxifene. MRF1 repression is not influenced by pharmacological inhibition of histone deacetylase. These data identify MRF1 as a repressor of ERalpha-mediated transcriptional activation and support a role for MRF1 in regulating ER-dependent gene expression in cardiovascular and other cells.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Cardiology Research Institute, New England Medical Center and Department of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111,USA.
authors.forename: Serban P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Georgescu
authors.forename: Joyce H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Richard H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Karas
authors.forename: Myles
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Michael E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Mendelsohn
mesh_terms: D001011:Aorta / Q000378:metabolism; D001665:Binding Sites; D047628:Estrogen Receptor alpha / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008024:Ligands; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D019151:Peptide Library; D011485:Protein Binding; D018160:Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D020798:Two-Hybrid System Techniques
chemical_list: D047628:Estrogen Receptor alpha; D008024:Ligands; D019151:Peptide Library; D018160:Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012097:Repressor Proteins