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Query: UNIPROT:P06889 (Mol)
 630,302 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A full-length chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tschawytscha) prolactin (PRL) gene, the first genomic clone of a teleost prolactin, was isolated and fully sequenced. The chinook PRL genomic sequence spans 6.4 Kb, including 2.4 Kb of 5' flanking sequence, 3.0 Kb representing the five exons and four introns of the complete PRL gene, and 0.9 Kb of 3' flanking sequence. The transcriptional start site of the PRL gene was mapped through the agreement of both primer extension and S1 nuclease protection assay. The 5' flanking region of the PRL gene was searched for potential cis-acting elements based on the consensus binding site of trans-acting factor Pit-1, known to be involved in PRL gene expression in mammals. Functional analysis of PRL promoter by the transient transfection of several PRL promoter/CAT chimeric plasmids into rainbow trout pituitary cells suggests a functional PRL promoter whose cell-specific activity is most likely governed by both positive and negative mechanisms.
Mol Mar Biol Biotechnol 1992 Apr
PMID:A gene encoding chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tschawytscha) prolactin: gene structure and potential cis-acting regulatory elements. 130 11

The POU domain is the conserved DNA binding domain of a family of gene regulatory proteins. It consists of a POU-specific domain and a POU homeodomain, connected by a variable linker region. Oct-1 is a ubiquitously expressed POU domain transcription factor. It binds to the canonical octamer sequence (ATGCAAAT) as a monomer. Here we show by chemical cross-linking and protein affinity chromatography that the Oct-1 POU domain monomers can interact in solution. This association requires both the POU homeodomain and the POU-specific domain. The interaction is transient in solution and can be stabilized by binding to the heptamer-octamer sequence in the immunoglobulin heavy-chain promoter. This correlates with cooperative DNA binding to this site. POU proteins from different subclasses, including Oct-1, Oct-2A, Oct-6, and a chimeric Oct-1 protein containing the Pit-1 POU domain, can bind cooperatively to a double binding site and form a heteromeric complex.
Mol Cell Biol 1992 Feb
PMID:The Oct-1 POU domain mediates interactions between Oct-1 and other POU proteins. 134 36

In mammals, the pituitary POU homeodomain protein, Pit-1, binds to proximal and distal 5'-flanking sequences of the PRL gene that dictate tissue-specific expression. These DNA sequences are highly conserved among mammals but are dramatically different from PRL 5' sequences in the teleost species, Oncorhynchus tschawytscha (chinook salmon). To analyze the molecular basis for pituitary-specific gene expression in a distantly related vertebrate, we transfected CAT reporter gene constructs containing 2.4 kilobases (kb) 5'-flanking sequence from the salmon PRL (sPRL) gene into various cell types. Expression of the sPRL gene was restricted to pituitary cells, but in rat pituitary GH4 cells levels of expression were at least 90-fold lower than those obtained with a -3 kb rat PRL (rPRL) construct. Conversely, in primary teleost pituitary cells, -2.4 kb sPRL/CAT was expressed at levels about 10-fold higher than -3 kb rPRL/CAT. To determine whether species-specific transactivation by Pit-1 was sufficient to explain these species differences in PRL gene expression, we isolated a cDNA clone encoding the salmon Pit-1 POU domain and constructed a rat Pit-1 expression vector that contained salmon Pit-1 POU domain sequences substituted in frame. The chimeric Pit-1 encoded 14 amino acids unique to salmon. Coexpression of rat Pit-1 with salmon or rat PRL/CAT in transfected HeLa cells resulted in specific and strikingly comparable levels of promoter activation. Moreover, the specificity and efficacy of the chimeric salmon/rat Pit-1 was similar to wild type rat Pit-1 in activating salmon and rat PRL/CAT.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Mol Endocrinol 1992 Apr
PMID:Phylogenetic specificity of prolactin gene expression with conservation of Pit-1 function. 135 55

Rat pituitary acidophils consist of somatotropes (GH+/PRL-), lactotropes (GH-/PRL+), and lactosomatotropes (GH+/PRL+). Studies have indicated interconversion of these cell types in response to changing hormonal status. Representative tumor cell lines have been obtained for each acidophil cell type, and some display spontaneous interconversions. We examined whether the switch from GH3 cells (GH+/PRL+) to GH3LP and GC cells (both GH+/PRL-) involves repression of PRL gene expression at a transcriptional vs. posttranscriptional level. PRL mRNA is undetectable or barely detectable in GH3LP and GC cells. In contrast, nuclear extracts from these cells transcribe the PRL promoter in vitro, and their Pit-1 mRNA levels are comparable to those in GH3 cells. Nuclear run-on transcription assays demonstrated that the PRL gene is transcribed in GH3LP and GC cells at a rate of about 60% of that observed in GH3 cells. No evidence was obtained for a block to transcriptional elongation or for transcription in the antisense direction across the PRL gene. Northern blot analysis of nuclear RNA revealed partially degraded and undetectable PRL gene transcripts in GH3LP cells and GC cells, respectively. These findings indicate that PRL gene transcripts are specifically degraded in tumor cells which display a pure somatotrope phenotype and raise the possibility that the trans-differentiation of lactosomatotropes to somatotropes involves posttranscriptional regulation of PRL gene expression.
Mol Endocrinol 1992 Aug
PMID:Posttranscriptional regulation of prolactin (PRL) gene expression in PRL-deficient pituitary tumor cells. 140 5

Pit-1 is a pituitary-specific transcription factor that activates expression of the GH and PRL genes. We have isolated a cDNA encoding a variant isoform of Pit-1 that we term Pit-1 beta. Pit-1 beta contains an insertion of 26 amino acids in the transactivation domain as a consequence of the utilization of an alternative 3' splice acceptor at the end of the first intron. Like the previously described Pit-1 alpha, Pit-1 beta transactivates both the GH and PRL promoters. However, the larger isoform acts as a more potent inducer of GH.
Mol Endocrinol 1992 Feb
PMID:Functional isoforms of Pit-1 generated by alternative messenger RNA splicing. 156 67

The proximal region of the rat PRL gene contains at least five transcription-stimulating elements that are located within a 170-basepair region up-stream of the TATA box. These cis-acting elements include four binding sites for the pituitary-specific transcription factor Pit-1 as well as another site for an unidentified factor. In this study interactions between different DNA elements have been examined through the construction of PRL-luciferase fusion genes containing mutations that disrupt various combinations of the individual DNA elements. In general, the disruption of multiple factor-binding sites had a much more than additive effect on expression of the luciferase constructs. Interestingly, comparison of the effects of disrupting pairs of binding sites demonstrated substantial differences in the effects of different combinations of mutations, suggesting that cooperative interactions may reflect specific interactions. Mutations that disrupted all five cis-elements of the PRL proximal region essentially abolished transcription from the proximal promoter. This finding suggests that there are no other DNA elements within the proximal 200 basepairs of the PRL gene that can independently stimulate transcription. Although there is strong functional cooperativity between different cis-elements in the PRL gene, DNase footprint studies failed to detect cooperative binding between different Pit-1 elements. Overall, the findings demonstrate that the normal transcription of the PRL gene involves strong cooperative interactions between individual DNA elements in the proximal region.
Mol Endocrinol 1992 Apr
PMID:Analysis of functional cooperativity between individual transcription-stimulating elements in the proximal region of the rat prolactin gene. 158 22

The rat GH (rGH) gene is expressed in the pituitary in a highly tissue-specific manner. A pituitary-specific transcription factor, Pit-1 (or GHF-1), and other, more tissue-general factors, including the thyroid hormone receptor (T3R), are important for regulating rGH promoter activity. The relative roles of Pit-1, T3R, and protein kinases in the activation of the rGH promoter were studied. Each component was supplied individually or in combination with the others to human monocyte U937 cells. The transfected rGH promoter was inactive in these cells even when it was cotransfected with either Pit-1 or T3R expression vectors. The rGH promoter carried in a truncated pUC vector could be activated by expression of the T3R if the cells were cultured with inducers of protein kinase-A (forskolin) and protein kinase-C [phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)] activity. By contrast, the PMA- and forskolin-dependent activation of the rGH promoter by Pit-1 expression was comparatively insignificant unless 1) the sequences deleted from the pUC vector (including a putative site for the transcription factor AP1) were restored to the plasmid carrying the rGH promoter; or 2) the T3R was coexpressed, which led to a marked synergistic response. These results indicate the relative inactivity of Pit-1 in isolation from other factors. Activation by forskolin and PMA did not require de novo protein synthesis. The synergistic activation by Pit-1 and the T3R was enhanced, but was not dependent upon, thyroid hormone (T3). The T3-dependent effect operated predominately through a thyroid hormone response element located up-stream of the two Pit-1-binding sites within the rGH promoter, whereas the T3-independent effect did not require any of the known T3R-binding sites on the rGH promoter. These results suggest a role for the more tissue-general T3R and protein kinases in the activation of the rGH promoter. They demonstrate the synergistic interplay between the T3R and Pit-1, underscore the dependence of Pit-1 action on other transcription factors, and implicate Pit-1 as a cofactor, rather than the dominant factor, influencing the tissue-specific expression of the rGH promoter.
Mol Endocrinol 1992 Apr
PMID:Synergistic activation of the rat growth hormone promoter by Pit-1 and the thyroid hormone receptor. 158 27

The tissue-specific expression of the PRL and GH genes is dependent on the presence of a pituitary-specific trans-activator, GHF-1/Pit-1. Previous studies indicate that somatic cell hybridization of rat pituitary GH3 cells with LB82 mouse fibroblasts frequently results in the extinction of GH and PRL expression. The extinction of the GH gene occurs at the transcriptional level, and is accompanied by repression of GHF-1/Pit-1 synthesis. To elucidate the mechanism of PRL extinction we further characterized these same somatic cell hybrid lines as well as the parental GH3 and LB82 cells. The pattern of PRL extinction and reexpression paralleled that of GH in the three hybrid lines that were examined. Two of these lines extinguished both GH and PRL synthesis, while a third displayed reexpression of both genes, apparently due to the loss of mouse chromosomal material. These studies revealed that the extinction of PRL expression in these hybrid lines occurs at the level of mRNA accumulation and is strongly correlated with the loss of GHF-1/Pit-1 mRNA and protein synthesis. These data suggest that in pituitary x fibroblast hybrids repression of the trans-activator GHF-1/Pit-1 is a primary mechanism for the extinction of PRL and GH gene expression.
Mol Endocrinol 1992 May
PMID:Extinction of prolactin gene expression in somatic cell hybrids is correlated with the repression of the pituitary-specific trans-activator GHF-1/Pit-1. 160 87

The ubiquitously expressed mammalian POU-domain protein Oct-1 specifically recognizes two classes of cis-acting regulatory elements that bear little sequence similarity, the octamer motif ATGCAAAT and the TAATGARAT motif. The related pituitary-specific POU protein Pit-1 also recognizes these two motifs but, unlike Oct-1, binds preferentially to the TAATGARAT motif. Yet in our assay, Pit-1 still binds octamer elements better than does the octamer motif-binding protein Oct-3. The POU domain is responsible for recognizing these diverse regulatory sequences through multiple DNA contacts that include the two POU subdomains, the POU-specific region, and the POU homeodomain. The DNA-binding properties of 10 chimeric POU domains, in which different POU-domain segments are derived from either Oct-1 or Pit-1, reveal a high degree of structural plasticity; these hybrid proteins all bind DNA well and frequently bind particular sites better than does either of the parental POU domains. In these chimeric POU domains, the POU-specific A and B boxes and the hypervariable POU linker can influence DNA-binding specificity. The surprising result is that the influence a particular segment has on DNA-binding specificity can be greatly affected by the origin of other segments of the POU domain and the sequence of the binding site. Thus, the broad but selective DNA-binding specificity of Oct-1 is conferred both by multiple DNA contacts and by dynamic interactions within the DNA-bound POU domain.
Mol Cell Biol 1992 Feb
PMID:Segments of the POU domain influence one another's DNA-binding specificity. 173 27

Previous work by our laboratory has described the presence and widespread distribution of a PRL-like immunoreactive protein in brain. The persistence of this PRL in brain after hypophysectomy provided substantial evidence that brain PRL represented the product of a synthetic pool separate from that of the anterior pituitary PRL. To pursue this concept of independent synthesis further, we sought to determine whether brain tissue expressed PRL mRNA. Although we were easily able to detect a single species of PRL mRNA in pituitary by Northern hybridization, we could not visualize message in hypothalamus or extrahypothalamic brain by this technique. Therefore, we performed the polymerase chain reaction on cDNAs from anterior pituitary, hypothalamus, discrete extrahypothalamic brain regions, and other tissues. Hypothalamus and extrahypothalamic brain parts, including the cerebellum, caudate, brain stem, amygdala, thalamus, cortex, and hippocampus, were all positive to varying degrees. Lung and liver were negative, and anterior pituitary was consistently positive. All positive tissues, including anterior pituitary, expressed two hybridization signals: the expected amplified product and another smaller one. The smaller amplified product is presumably the result of an alternatively spliced transcript that is missing part of the PRL gene. Hypophysectomized animals did not express PRL message in brain, but expression was restored in hypophysectomized animals treated with testosterone. Transcripts for Pit-1 (GHF-1), a transcription factor important in regulation of pituitary PRL, were not detected in hypothalamus or any of the extrahypothalamic brain parts. The finding of testosterone stimulation of brain PRL message and undetectable levels of Pit-1 (GHF-1) in hypothalamic and extrahypothalamic brain regions indicates that the transcriptional regulation of PRL in the brain is different from that in the anterior pituitary.
Mol Endocrinol 1992 Jan
PMID:The rat prolactin gene is expressed in brain tissue: detection of normal and alternatively spliced prolactin messenger RNA. 173 69


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