title: The nuclear cofactor RAC3/AIB1/SRC-3 enhances Nrf2 signaling by interacting with transactivation domains.
abstract: Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2, NM 006164, 605 AA) is essential for the antioxidant responsive element (ARE)-mediated expression of a group of detoxifying antioxidant genes that detoxify carcinogens and protect against oxidative stress. Several proteins have been identified as Nrf2-interacting molecules. In this study, we found that the overexpression of receptor-associated coactivator 3 (RAC3)/AIB-1/steroid receptor coactivator-3, a nuclear coregulator and oncogene frequently amplified in human breast cancers, induced heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) through Nrf2 transactivation in HeLa cells. Next, we determined the interaction between RAC3 and Nrf2 proteins using a co-immunoprecipitation assay and fluorescence resonance energy transfer analysis. The results showed that RAC3 bound directly to the Nrf2 protein in the nucleus. Subsequently, we identified the interacting domains of Nrf2 and RAC3 using a glutathione S-transferase pull-down assay. The results showed that both the N-terminal RAC3-pasB and C-terminal RAC3-R3B3 domains were tightly bound to the Neh4 and Neh5 transactivation domains. Furthermore, chromatin immunoprecipitation showed that RAC3 bound tightly to the ARE enhancer region of the HO-1 promoter via Nrf2 binding. These data suggest that Nrf2 activation is modulated and directly controlled through interactions with the RAC3 protein in HeLa cells.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program in Pharmaceutical Science, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: J-H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: A N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Kong
mesh_terms: D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D006367:HeLa Cells; D051547:Heme Oxygenase-1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D061986:MCF-7 Cells; D051267:NF-E2-Related Factor 2 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D056921:Nuclear Receptor Coactivator 3 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011485:Protein Binding; D054730:Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs; D015398:Signal Transduction; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015533:Transcriptional Activation; D020744:rac GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D051267:NF-E2-Related Factor 2; C495635:NFE2L2 protein, human; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; C411563:RAC3 protein, human; D015534:Trans-Activators; D014157:Transcription Factors; C496541:HMOX1 protein, human; D051547:Heme Oxygenase-1; C538866:NCOA3 protein, human; D056921:Nuclear Receptor Coactivator 3; D020744:rac GTP-Binding Proteins