Transcriptional Activation of Low-Density Lipoprotein Receptor Gene by DJ-1 and Effect of DJ-1 on Cholesterol Homeostasis

DJ-1 is a novel oncogene and also causative gene for familial Parkinson’s disease park7. DJ-1 has multiple functions that include transcriptional regulation, anti-oxidative reaction and chaperone and mitochondrial regulation. For transcriptional regulation, DJ-1 acts as a coactivator that binds to various transcription factors, resulting in stimulation or repression of the expression of their target genes. In this study, we found the low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) gene is a transcriptional target gene for DJ-1. Reduced expression of LDLR mRNA and protein was observed in DJ-1-knockdown cells and DJ-1-knockout mice and this occurred at the transcription level. Reporter gene assays using various deletion and point mutations of the LDLR promoter showed that DJ-1 stimulated promoter activity by binding to the sterol regulatory element (SRE) with sterol regulatory element binding protein (SREBP) and that stimulating activity of DJ-1 toward LDLR promoter activity was enhanced by oxidation of DJ-1. Chromatin immunoprecipitation, gel-mobility shift and co-immunoprecipitation assays showed that DJ-1 made a complex with SREBP on the SRE. Furthermore, it was found that serum LDL cholesterol level was increased in DJ-1-knockout male, but not female, mice and that the increased serum LDL cholesterol level in DJ-1-knockout male mice was cancelled by administration with estrogen, suggesting that estrogen compensates the increased level of serum LDL cholesterol in DJ-1-knockout female mice. This is the first report that DJ-1 participates in metabolism of fatty acid synthesis through transcriptional regulation of the LDLR gene

Molecular cloning of MSSP-2, a c-myc gene single-strand binding protein: characterization of binding specificity and DNA replication activity.

We have previously reported the human cDNA encoding MSSP-1, a sequence-specific double- and single-stranded DNA binding protein [Negishi, Nishita, Saëgusa, Kakizaki, Galli, Kihara, Tamai, Miyajima, Iguchi-Ariga and Ariga (1994) Oncogene, 9, 1133-1143]. MSSP-1 binds to a DNA replication origin/transcriptional enhancer of the human c-myc gene and has turned out to be identical with Scr2, a human protein which complements the defect of cdc2 kinase in S.pombe [Kataoka and Nojima (1994) Nucleic Acid Res., 22, 2687-2693]. We have cloned the cDNA for MSSP-2, another member of the MSSP family of proteins. The MSSP-2 cDNA shares highly homologous sequences with MSSP-1 cDNA, except for the insertion of 48 bp coding 16 amino acids near the C-terminus. Like MSSP-1, MSSP-2 has RNP-1 consensus sequences. The results of the experiments using bacterially expressed MSSP-2, and its deletion mutants, as histidine fusion proteins suggested that the binding specificity of MSSP-2 to double- and single-stranded DNA is the same as that of MSSP-1, and that the RNP consensus sequences are required for the DNA binding of the protein. MSSP-2 stimulated the DNA replication of an SV40-derived plasmid containing the binding sequence for MSSP-1 or -2. MSSP-2 is hence suggested to play an important role in regulation of DNA replication

Monomer DJ-1 and Its N-Terminal Sequence Are Necessary for Mitochondrial Localization of DJ-1 Mutants

DJ-1 is a novel oncogene and also a causative gene for familial Parkinson's disease (park7). DJ-1 has multiple functions that include transcriptional regulation, anti-oxidative reaction and chaperone and mitochondrial regulation. Mitochondrial dysfunction is observed in DJ-1-knockout mice and fry, and mitochondrial DJ-1 is more protective against oxidative stress-induced cell death. Although translocation of DJ-1 into mitochondria is enhanced by oxidative stress that leads to oxidation of cysteine 106 (C106) of DJ-1, the characteristics of mitochondrial DJ-1 and the mechanism by which DJ-1 is translocated into mitochondria are poorly understood. In this study, immunostaining, co-immunoprecipitation, cell fractionation and pull-down experiments showed that mutants of glutamine 18 (E18) DJ-1 are localized in mitochondria and do not make homodimers. Likewise, DJ-1 with mutations of two cysteines located in the dimer interface, C46S and C53A, and pathogenic mutants, M26I and L166P DJ-1, were found to be localized in mitochondria and not to make homodimers. Mutant DJ-1 harboring both E18A and C106S, in which C106 is not oxidized, was also localized in mitochondria, indicating that oxidation of C106 is important but not essential for mitochondrial localization of DJ-1. It should be noted that E18A DJ-1 was translocated from mitochondria to the cytoplasm when mitochondrial membrane potential was reduced by treatment of cells with CCCP, an uncoupler of the oxidative phosphorylation system in mitochondria. Furthermore, deletion or substitution of the N-terminal 12 amino acids in DJ-1 resulted in re-localization of E18A, M26I and L166P DJ-1 from mitochondria into the cytoplasm. These findings suggest that a monomer and the N-terminal 12 amino acids are necessary for mitochondrial localization of DJ-1 mutants and that conformation change induced by C106 oxidation or by E18 mutation leads to translocation of DJ-1 into mitochondria

Cloning and characterization of the genomic DNA of the human MSSP genes.

MSSP proteins have been identified by their binding to an upstream element of c-myc. Independently, two different approaches yielded two cDNA clones highly homologous to the MSSP cDNAs, suggesting an involvement of MSSP in the regulation of the cell cycle (scr2) and in the repression of HIV-1 and ILR2 alpha-promoter transcription (human YC1). Screening human genomic libraries, we have isolated clones belonging to two different gene loci. Whereas the human MSSP gene 1 turned out to be intronless, the organization of the coding sequence within gene 2 is more complex. It spans more than 60 kb and contains 16 exons (including two alternative first exons), ranging from 48 to 287 bp, respectively. The intron sizes vary from 0.1 to more than 13 kb. Gene 1 has been completely sequenced. A deletion series of its upstream region was conjugated to the luciferase gene, but the transfection of the constructs did not display any promoter activity. Moreover, compared with gene 2 and the cDNA sequences known so far, about 20 point mutations as well as flanking direct repeats have been detected in the MSSP gene 1, showing that it possesses all the characteristics of processed retropseudogenes. Sequence analysis of a 1.7 kb fragment of the 5' flanking region of the MSSP gene 2 revealed that the promoter of gene 2 lacks consensus sequences for TATA and CCAAT boxes, is GC-rich, and contains numerous potential transcription factor binding elements including an Sp1 binding site. DNase I footprinting experiments showed that the putative Sp1 site was bound by proteins. The results of primer extension and S1 mapping analyses suggested the transcription of the gene starts at multiple positions upstream from the initiator methionine codon. Luciferase assays employing progressive deletions of the 1.7 kb promoter region allowed us to define the minimal promoter region of 428 bp (-488/+) and revealed a complex pattern of the transcriptional regulation the human MSSP gene 2. Furthermore, it can be concluded that the MSSP gene 2 encodes both MSSP-1 and MSSP-2, and moreover scr2 and human YC1

DJ-1, an oncogene and causative gene for familial Parkinson's disease, is essential for SV40 transformation in mouse fibroblasts through up-regulation of c-Myc

Simian virus 40 (SV40) is a tumor virus and its early gene product large T-antigen (LT) is responsible for the transforming activity of SV40. Parkinson's disease causative gene DJ-1 is also a ras-dependent oncogene, but the mechanism of its oncogene function is still not known. In this study, we found that there were no transformed foci when fibroblasts from DJ-1-knockout mice were transfected with LT. We also found that DJ-1 directly bound to LT and that the expression level of c-Myc in transformed cells was parallel to that of DJ-1. These findings indicate that DJ-1 is essential for SV40 transformation

Mitochondria-independent induction of Fas-mediated apoptosis by MSSP.

Fas-mediated apoptosis has been proposed to play an important role in homeostasis. Fas triggers apoptosis after stimulation by its ligand FasL or the Fas ligand agonist anti-Fas antibody through a mitochondria-dependent or -independent pathway, and MSSP has been identified as a transcription factor that regulates the c-myc gene and was later found to positively or negatively regulate a variety of genes, including alpha-smooth actin, MHC class I, MHC class 2 and the thyrotropin receptor. We further found that expression of the Fas gene was repressed, resulting in abrogation of the Fas-mediated induction of apoptosis both in Mssp-knockout mice and primary thymocytes. MSSP was then found to stimulate promoter activity of the Fas gene by binding to a specific region. In this study, to identify the MSSP-dependent Fas-induced apoptosis pathway, primary fibroblasts from MSSP (+/+) and MSSP (-/-) cells were treated with the combination of interleukin 1-beta and interferon-gamma and expression of the Fas gene was examined. The results showed that the Fas gene was expressed at the same levels in the two cell types. Furthermore, when these cells were treated with the anti-Fas antibody, it was found that cytochrome C was not released in the cytosol and that activations of caspase 8 and caspase 3 occurred in primary fibroblasts from MSSP (+/+) cells but not from MSSP (-/-) cells. These results indicate that Fas-mediated apoptosis induced by MSSP occurs independently of mitochondria

Effect of transcriptional regulatory sequences on autonomous replication of plasmids in transient mammalian systems.

Transcriptional regulatory sequences often influence the efficiency of DNA replication, directly or indirectly, in bacteria, yeast, and animal virus systems. We have tested several transcriptional regulatory sequences for affecting DNA replication, based on pUC vector, in transient systems. Autonomous replication of transfected plasmids was assayed by PCR amplification of the fragments derived from the plasmids, which had replicated in mammalian cells. By this highly efficient method of detecting replicated molecules, pUC19, but not pUC18, showed a week replication activity in transfected cells. Nucleotide sequences around the HindIII site in pUC19 were required for replication. Monomers or dimers of the octamer transcription motif of the mouse immunoglobulin heavy chain gene, inserted in multicloning sites of pUC19, could stimulate replication, while the 4- or 6-mers did not, in contrast to the results on its transcription activity. Other transcriptional elements including AP1, HSE, and E2F also stimulated replication, but neither CRE nor Sp1 binding motif did. These results suggest that at least some of the transcriptional regulatory sequences function as-modulators of DNA replication as well as of transcription

Structure and characterization of AAT-1 isoforms.

A novel protein, AAT-1, was identified as a AMY-1-binding protein and three splicing variants of AAT-1, AAT-1alpha, -beta and -gamma were identified. The function of AAT-1 is thought to be related to spermatogenesis. In this study, we further identified other splicing isoforms of AAT-1, AAT-1L, AAT-1M and AAT-1S, consisting of 767, 603 and 252 amino acids, respectively. These isoforms were found to use a promoter different from that used by AAT-1alpha, -beta and -gamma in the aat-1 gene, which contains 20 exons. Only 60 amino acids in the C-terminal portion of AAT-1 derived from exons 15-17 are common among AAT-1L, AAT-1M, AAT-1S and AAT-1alpha. While AAT-1alpha is specifically expressed in the testis, AAT-1L, AAT-1M, AAT-1S were found to be differentially expressed in human tissues. All of the isoforms of AAT-1 were found to bind to and colocalized with AMY-1 in human cells. While AAT-1L and AAT-1M were found to be localized diffusely in the cytoplasm, AAT-1S, like AAT-1alpha, was found to be localized in the mitochondria-like structure, suggesting different roles of AAT-1 isoforms in cells

Cloned origin of DNA replication in c-myc gene can function and be transmitted in transgenic mice in an episomal state.

The c-myc protein has recently been shown to interact with a region possessing putative origin of DNA replication and enhancer activities located 2 kb upstream of the c-myc gene itself. Transgenic mice were obtained by injecting constructs containing this region, termed pmyc(H-P), into fertilized mouse eggs. The transgenic elements were capable of efficient replication in all mouse tissues examined and were maintained in an episomal state even in highly differentiated cells. Moreover, pmyc(H-P) was transmittable to the progeny throughout several generations, which suggests that the fragment derived from the region upstream of the c-myc gene possesses sequences necessary for partition, stability and DNA replication of the plasmid in the cells. In addition, we have shown that the plasmid might be captured only by eggs, not by sperm.http://nar.oxfordjournals.org/content/18/18/5425.abstrac