title: AUF1-like protein binds specifically to DAS cis-acting element that regulates mouse alpha-fetoprotein gene expression.
abstract: Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is one of the major serum proteins in the early life of mammals. We have previously identified a novel cis-acting element designated as DAS at the 5'-flanking region of the AFP gene and demonstrated that the DAS sequence can be specifically recognized by nuclear protein DAP-II in AFP-producing hepatoma cells and retinoic acid (RA)-induced AFP-producing F9 cells. In this study, we used DNA affinity chromatography to purify the DAP-II proteins from the nuclear extracts (NE) of RA-treated F9 cells. The purified DAP-II complex mainly contained five proteins, with molecular weights of 45, 42, 32, 30, and 20 kDa, respectively. The identification of these proteins was determined by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometric analysis and a database search. These proteins were found to belong to the AUF1 RNA-binding protein family. Protein (30 kDa), one of five proteins in an isolated DAP-II complex, was matched with amino acid sequence highly similar to muAUF1-3. The expression of this protein is inducible by RA, and the pattern of the protein expression is the same as DAP-II proteins in F9 cells after treatment with RA during differentiation. Our results suggest that the 30-kDa protein is a novel isoform of AUF1 family and is the main component of the DAP-II complex that binds to the DAS sequence.
authors.affiliation: The State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Ruiqing
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jiao
authors.forename: Qing-Yu
authors.initials: QY
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Hongmin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Zichun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Hua
authors.forename: Qincai
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Jiao
authors.forename: Jen-fu
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Chiu
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D002460:Cell Line; D002846:Chromatography, Affinity; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004152:Dipeptidyl-Peptidases and Tripeptidyl-Peptidases / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D015180:Electrophoresis, Gel, Two-Dimensional; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000235:genetics*; D000081035:Heterogeneous Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein D0; D034502:Heterogeneous-Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein D / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011485:Protein Binding; D020218:Response Elements / Q000235:genetics*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization; D014212:Tretinoin / Q000494:pharmacology; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C000630986:HNRNPD protein, human; D000081035:Heterogeneous Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein D0; D034502:Heterogeneous-Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein D; C000630987:Hnrpd protein, mouse; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins; D014212:Tretinoin; D004247:DNA; D004152:Dipeptidyl-Peptidases and Tripeptidyl-Peptidases; C100151:dipeptidyl peptidase II