Regulation of the Rat Thyrotropin Receptor Gene by the Methylation-Sensitive Transcription Factor GA-Binding Protein

The GA-binding protein (GABP), a transcription factor with a widespread tissue distribution, consists of two subunits,α and β1, and acts as a potent positive regulator of various genes. The effect of GABP on transcription of the TSH receptor (TSHR) gene in rat FRTL-5 thyroid cells has now been investigated. Both deoxyribonuclease I footprint analysis and gel mobility-shift assays indicated that bacterially expressed glutathione S-transferase fusion proteins of GABP subunits bind to a region spanning nucleotides (nt) −116 to −80 of the TSHR gene. In gel mobility-shift assays, nuclear extracts of FRTL-5 cells and FRT cells yielded several specific bands with a probe comprising nt −116 to− 80. Supershift assays with antibodies to GABPα and to GABPβ1 showed that GABP was a component of the probe complexes formed by the nuclear extracts. Immunoblot analysis confirmed the presence of both GABP subunits in the nuclear extracts. A reporter gene construct containing the TSHR gene promoter was activated, in a dose-dependent manner, in FRTL-5 cells by cotransfection with constructs encoding both GABPα and GABPβ1. Both GABP binding to and activation of the TSHR gene promoter were prevented by methylation of CpG sites at nt −93 and− 85. These CpG sites were highly methylated (>82%) in FRT cells and completely demethylated in FRTL-5 cells, consistent with expression of the TSHR gene in the latter, but not the former. These results suggest that GABP regulates transcription of the TSHR gene in a methylation-dependent manner and that methylation of specific CpG sites and the methylation sensitivity of GABP contribute to the failure of FRT cells to express the endogenous TSHR gene.