Open AccessAltered pharmacology and distinct coactivator usage for estrogen receptor-dependent transcription through activating protein-1
Author(s) -
Edwin Cheung,
Mari Luz Acevedo,
Philip A. Cole,
W. Lee Kraus
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.0407113102
Subject(s) - estrogen receptor , coactivator , microbiology and biotechnology , transcription factor , estrogen receptor alpha , transcription preinitiation complex , transcription (linguistics) , enhancer , activator (genetics) , signal transduction , biology , chemistry , rna polymerase ii , receptor , promoter , biochemistry , gene expression , gene , genetics , philosophy , linguistics , cancer , breast cancer
Estrogen signaling occurs through at least two distinct molecular pathways: (i) direct binding of liganded estrogen receptors (ERs) to estrogen-responsive DNA elements (EREs) (the "ER/ERE pathway") and (ii) indirect recruitment of liganded ERs to activating protein-1 (AP-1)-responsive DNA elements via heterodimers of Fos and Jun (the "ER/AP-1 pathway"). We have developed a biochemical assay for examining ligand-regulated transcription by ERs in the ER/AP-1 pathway. This assay recapitulates the altered (i.e., agonistic) pharmacology of selective estrogen receptor modulator drugs in this pathway reported previously by using various cell-based assays. We used our biochemical assay to examine the detailed mechanisms of ER/AP-1-dependent transcription. Our studies indicate that (i) ERalpha/AP-1 complexes play a critical role in promoting the formation of stable RNA polymerase II preinitiation complexes leading to transcription initiation, (ii) chromatin is a key determinant of estrogen and selective estrogen receptor modulator signaling in the ERalpha/AP-1 pathway, (iii) distinct domains of ERalpha are required for recruitment to DNA-bound Fos/Jun heterodimers and transcriptional activation at AP-1 sites, and (iv) different enhancer/activator combinations in the ERalpha and AP-1 pathways use coactivators in distinct ways. These studies have increased our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying ligand-dependent signaling in the ER/AP-1 pathway and demonstrate the usefulness of this biochemical approach.