TY - JOUR
T1 - Dual roles for Pax-6
T2 - A transcriptional repressor of lens fiber cell- specific β-crystallin genes
AU - Duncan, Melinda K.
AU - Haynes, John I.
AU - Cvekl, Ales
AU - Piatigorsky, Joram
PY - 1998
Y1 - 1998
N2 - It has been demonstrated previously that Pax-6, a paired domain (PD)/homeodomain (HD) transcription factor critical for eye development, contributes to the activation of the αB-, αA-, δ1-, and ζ-crystallin genes in the lens. Here we have examined the possibility that the inverse relationship between the expression of Pax-6 and β-crystallin genes within the developing chicken lens reflects a negative regulatory role of Pax-6. Cotransfection of a plasmid containing the βB1-crystallin promoter fused to the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter gene and a plasmid containing the full-length mouse Pax-6 coding sequences into primary embryonic chicken lens epithelial cells or fibroblasts repressed the activity of this promoter by as much as 90%. Pax-6 constructs lacking the C-terminal activation domain repressed βB1-crystallin promoter activity as effectively as the full- length protein, but the PD alone or Pax-6 (5a), a splice variant with an altered PD affecting its DNA binding specificity, did not. DNase footprinting analysis revealed that truncated Pax-6 (PD+HD) binds to three regions (-183 to -152, -120 to -48, and -30 to +1) of the βB1-crystallin promoter. Earlier experiments showed that the βB1-crystallin promoter sequence from -120 to - 48 contains a cis element (PL2 at -90 to -76) that stimulates the activity of a heterologous promoter in lens cells but not in fibroblasts. In the present study, we show by electrophoretic mobility shift assay and cotransfection that Pax-6 binds to PL2 and represses its ability to activate promoter activity; moreover, mutation of PL2 eliminated binding by Pax-6. Taken together, our data indicate that Pax-6 (via its PD and HD) represses the βB1-crystallin promoter by direct interaction with the PL2 element. We thus suggest that the relatively high concentration of Pax-6 contributes to the absence of βB1-crystallin gene expression in lens epithelial cells and that diminishing amounts of Pax-6 in lens fiber cells during development allow activation of this gene.
AB - It has been demonstrated previously that Pax-6, a paired domain (PD)/homeodomain (HD) transcription factor critical for eye development, contributes to the activation of the αB-, αA-, δ1-, and ζ-crystallin genes in the lens. Here we have examined the possibility that the inverse relationship between the expression of Pax-6 and β-crystallin genes within the developing chicken lens reflects a negative regulatory role of Pax-6. Cotransfection of a plasmid containing the βB1-crystallin promoter fused to the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter gene and a plasmid containing the full-length mouse Pax-6 coding sequences into primary embryonic chicken lens epithelial cells or fibroblasts repressed the activity of this promoter by as much as 90%. Pax-6 constructs lacking the C-terminal activation domain repressed βB1-crystallin promoter activity as effectively as the full- length protein, but the PD alone or Pax-6 (5a), a splice variant with an altered PD affecting its DNA binding specificity, did not. DNase footprinting analysis revealed that truncated Pax-6 (PD+HD) binds to three regions (-183 to -152, -120 to -48, and -30 to +1) of the βB1-crystallin promoter. Earlier experiments showed that the βB1-crystallin promoter sequence from -120 to - 48 contains a cis element (PL2 at -90 to -76) that stimulates the activity of a heterologous promoter in lens cells but not in fibroblasts. In the present study, we show by electrophoretic mobility shift assay and cotransfection that Pax-6 binds to PL2 and represses its ability to activate promoter activity; moreover, mutation of PL2 eliminated binding by Pax-6. Taken together, our data indicate that Pax-6 (via its PD and HD) represses the βB1-crystallin promoter by direct interaction with the PL2 element. We thus suggest that the relatively high concentration of Pax-6 contributes to the absence of βB1-crystallin gene expression in lens epithelial cells and that diminishing amounts of Pax-6 in lens fiber cells during development allow activation of this gene.
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U2 - 10.1128/mcb.18.9.5579
DO - 10.1128/mcb.18.9.5579
M3 - Article
C2 - 9710641
AN - SCOPUS:0031840442
SN - 0270-7306
VL - 18
SP - 5579
EP - 5586
JO - Molecular and cellular biology
JF - Molecular and cellular biology
IS - 9
ER -