Biol Reprod
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
 QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     


This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Wolfe, S. A.
Right arrow Articles by Grimes, S. R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Wolfe, S. A.
Right arrow Articles by Grimes, S. R.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Wolfe, S. A.
Right arrow Articles by Grimes, S. R.
Biology of Reproduction 61, 1005-1011 (1999)
©Copyright 1999 Society for the Study of Reproduction, Inc.


Articles

Localization of Upstream Elements Involved in Transcriptional Regulation of the Rat Testis-Specific Histone H1t Gene in Somatic Cells1

Steven A. Wolfea,b, Peter J. Mottrama,b, Jane M. vanWerta,b, and Sidney R. Grimes2,a,b

a Medical Research Service (151), Overton Brooks Veterans Administration Medical Center, Shreveport, Louisiana 71101-4295 b Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Louisiana State University Medical Center, Shreveport, Louisiana 71130-3932


    ABSTRACT
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 
The testis-specific histone H1t is synthesized exclusively in late pachytene primary spermatocytes during spermatogenesis. The mechanisms involved in transcriptional repression of the H1t gene during development before the spermatocyte stage and in later stages of germinal cell maturation and in nonexpressing somatic tissues are unknown. To assess the contribution of the upstream DNA sequence to H1t transcriptional silencing in nonexpressing cells, a set of histone H1t-promoted reporter vectors was constructed. Transient transfection of mouse C127I cells with these reporter vectors allowed us to identify a transcriptional silencer located between 948 base pairs (bp) and 780 bp upstream from the H1t transcriptional initiation site. Histone H1t-promoted luciferase activity increased 4-fold when the region between 948 bp and 875 bp upstream from the transcriptional initiation site was eliminated. Addition of a 73-bp rat H1t promoter fragment (-948 to -875, containing the 5' portion of the silencer region) to a site immediately upstream from the histone H1d proximal promoter led to significantly reduced luciferase expression upon transient transfection (56% in C127I cells and 44% in HeLa cells). Nuclear proteins were found to bind to DNA within the H1t silencer region when assayed by in vitro deoxyribonuclease (DNase) I footprinting. Thus, our data suggest that an active transcriptional silencer mechanism involving a specific and autonomous H1t promoter element (nucleotides -948/-875) may be operative to minimize expression of the H1t gene in nontesticular cells.


    INTRODUCTION
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 
The mammalian family of H1 histones contains 7 known subtypes and represents the most divergent histone class [1, 2]. The H1 histone subtypes exhibit differences in expression patterns during development and differentiation [3], and in binding affinity to chromatin, with H1t having the weakest binding [2, 4]. H1 histones appear to be involved in chromatin remodeling and in formation of higher-order chromatin structure [5] by facilitating the transition from the 10-nm filament to the 30-nm fiber. Through chromatin binding and remodeling, histone H1 acts as a global gene regulator [6]. Studies show that H1 histones can interact with components of the transcription initiation complex to block transcription [7, 8].

Promoter comparisons reveal that the proximal promoter of the testis-specific histone H1t gene contains all of the consensus elements common to the somatic H1 promoters including an AC box, a GC box, a CCAAT box, and a TATA box [914]. Two elements, the AC box and the CCAAT box, have been examined in detail and have been shown to have a role in cell cycle control of enhanced histone H1 gene transcription during the S-phase of the mitotic cell cycle [12, 1518]. The proximal promoter of the testis-specific histone H1t contains an additional enhancer element designated TE that binds factors responsible for activation of transcription in the testis [1923]. The H1t promoter also contains a poly C element termed the GC box 2 [24, 25] that contributes to repression of H1t gene transcription in somatic cells. Since there are common elements within the proximal promoters of the 7 H1 histone genes, it has been assumed that factors that bind to elements farther upstream may modulate histone H1t gene transcription. This may be accomplished by interaction of transcriptional factors that are bound to the upstream region with transcriptional factors that are bound to the proximal promoter to repress transcription in actively dividing somatic cells.

Studies with transgenic animals have revealed regions of DNA that are needed for proper testis-specific transcription. All sequences necessary and sufficient for proper developmental and spermatocyte-specific transcription of the H1t gene are present within a genomic fragment containing 2.5 kilobases (kb) of upstream and 3.8 kb of downstream flanking DNA [26]. Results of experiments with transgenic mice containing 141 nucleotides of the rat H1t promoter fused to a lacZ reporter gene show that the proximal promoter containing the TE enhancer element can activate transcription within the testis [27]. However, transcription of the H1t gene has been examined primarily in adult animals within tissues that are not actively proliferating and undergoing mitosis [26, 27]. The 141-bp H1t promoter fusion has not been examined in immature animals or in actively proliferating tissues.

Studies with proliferating cell lines have revealed several upstream elements that may contribute to control of testis-specific histone H1t gene transcription [1, 28]. H1t transcription as detected with reporter constructs driven by the H1t promoter is low compared to transcription from somatic H1 constructs in cells undergoing mitosis [28]. Low transcriptional activity seen with the H1t promoter may be indicative of the presence of silencer elements and of significant differences within the proximal promoter that render H1t less efficient in interacting with transcriptional factors utilized by the somatic variants. Prior work suggested that regulation of H1t gene transcription during the mitotic cell cycle may be influenced by sequences upstream from the H1t proximal promoter [1, 28]. A key question that needs to be addressed is whether there are active mechanisms that silence transcription of the H1t gene or maintain its transcription at a low level in somatic cells. Therefore, examination of DNA upstream and downstream from the H1t gene as well as within the structural gene may lead to identification of elements that are involved in the silencing of H1t gene transcription in nonexpressing cells.

To determine the contribution of the 5' flanking region of the proximal promoter to transcriptional silencing of the H1t gene, we prepared a set of reporter vectors to examine H1t promoter activity in transfected somatic cells. In results presented here, a region of the H1t promoter located between 948 to 875 nucleotides upstream from the H1t transcriptional start site acted as a silencer of H1t gene transcription in mouse C127I cells. When this element was placed upstream from the rat somatic H1d proximal promoter in a luciferase reporter plasmid construct, transcription was reduced by approximately 50%.


    MATERIALS AND METHODS
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 
Plasmids

Methods for construction of recombinant DNA followed standard procedures [29]. Plasmid DNA was harvested from cultures of Escherichia coli strain HB101 using alkaline lysis [30] followed by passage through a Wizard DNA clean-up minicolumn (Promega, Madison, WI). Plasmid DNA was quantitated by reading absorbance at 260 nm on a Beckman DU 64 spectrophotometer (Beckman Instruments, Palo Alto, CA).

Construction of Histone H1t-Promoted Luciferase Reporter Plasmids

The plasmid pPS5 served as the source for the histone H1t promoter fragments used in the construction of the luciferase-based reporter vectors. The plasmid pPS5 was constructed by digesting the plasmid pPS3 [31] with EcoRI and HindIII to release a 2.77-kb EcoRI-HindIII fragment that contained approximately one half of the rat H1t structural gene and 2.4 kb of DNA upstream from the initiation codon. This fragment was isolated and cloned into pUC 9 (EcoRI and HindIII sites) to yield plasmid pPS5. Initially, pPS5 was digested with Tth111 I, which cuts 5' of the "A" of the H1t initiation codon; this was followed by a filling reaction with the Klenow fragment of DNA polymerase to generate a blunt end. A KpnI digest was performed to release a 1543-bp fragment that was subcloned into the KpnI-SmaI-digested pGL3 Basic luciferase plasmid (Promega) to generate pGL3B KpnI. Starting with the plasmid pGL3B KpnI, several more H1t-promoted luciferase reporter plasmids were isolated using convenient restriction sites (StuI, PvuII, AccI, XbaI, and PstI) within the H1t promoter and a HindIII located downstream (3') of the Tth111I/SmaI fusion site within pGL3B (Fig. 1). Exonuclease III digestion of pGL3B KpnI (digested with KpnI and XbaI) followed by S1 nuclease digestion was used to generate pGL3B 1866. The plasmid pGL3B EcoRI was generated by a two-step procedure. First, in order to obtain a region upstream from the KpnI site, a 1568-bp KpnI-HindIII restriction fragment, obtained from pGL3B KpnI, was subcloned into KpnI-HindIII-digested pPS5 to generate plasmid pUC9 EcoRI-Tth111I/SmaI. Second, pUC9 EcoRI-Tth111I/SmaI was digested with EcoRI, filled with Klenow, and digested with HindIII to release a 2480-bp fragment that was subcloned into the SmaI and HindIII sites of pGL3 Basic to generate pGL3B EcoRI. Construction of all H1t-promoted reporter vectors was performed in the above fashion to maintain identical fusion points to the luciferase reporter.



View larger version (16K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
FIG. 1. Diagram of rat histone H1t and H1d-promoted luciferase reporter constructs. This is a depiction of the H1t and H1d promoter fragments fused to the firefly luciferase reporter gene used for these transient expression studies. The negative number to the left of each construct indicates the distance in nucleotides relative to the respective H1t or H1d transcriptional initiation site with the exception of the H1d construct containing the H1t silencer (pGL3B H1d/Sil). Numbers in parentheses indicate distance in nucleotides relative to the EcoRI site. All H1t-promoted constructs and the two H1d constructs have fusion points identical to those of the firefly luciferase gene. The histone H1t silencer region from the PvuII site at -948 to the AccI site at -875 is designated by the open rectangle in the diagram

Construction of the Somatic Histone H1d-Promoted Luciferase Reporter Plasmid

The rat H1d-promoted luciferase reporter vector was constructed using the pGL3 Basic luciferase plasmid and a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-generated fragment using the known rat H1d sequence [32]. A pair of primers was selected using the Oligo program (National Biosciences, Inc., Plymouth, MN), which would amplify a 576-bp DNA fragment that started 233 nucleotides upstream from the ATG and extended 336 nucleotides into the coding region of the H1d gene. The upstream primer 5'-GACGCGTACTGGGCAATTCTATGTGGGGAAT-3' was designed so that it contained a MluI site (ACGCGT) at the 5' end to facilitate cloning, and the downstream primer sequence was 5'-AGCCGCCTTCTTGTTGAGTTTGAA-3'. Amplification was conducted for 30 cycles using 1 µg of rat testis genomic DNA, with heating at 94°C for 1 min, 56°C for 1 min, and 72°C for 1 min. The resulting PCR product was digested with MluI (engineered into 5' primer) and XhoI (positioned in the untranslated H1d leader region 27 bp 3' of the transcriptional initiation site) and cloned into the same sites in the pGL3 Basic plasmid.

To have a convenient source of DNA for generating plasmids and probes from the silencer/enhancer region, two plasmids containing a 285-bp MaeIII fragment were constructed. Briefly, pPS5 was digested with StuI and PstI to release a 955-bp fragment that was recovered from low-melting temperature (LMT) agarose using an ELUTIP-D column (Schleicher & Schuell, Keene, NH). The 955-bp StuI-PstI fragment was digested with MaeIII and treated with Klenow to fill the ends of the DNA fragments. The DNA was electrophoresed through a 1% LMT agarose gel, and a 285-bp fragment was recovered using hot phenol extraction [6]. The 285-bp blunt-ended fragment was cloned into the SmaI site of pUC 19 to generate pM3F (pUC 19/MaeIII forward orientation) and pM3R (pUC 19/MaeIII reverse orientation). The plasmid pGL3B H1d/Silencer was generated by digesting pM3R with AccI and then treatment with Klenow to fill the 5' overhangs. After electrophoresis through 1% LMT agarose, the 163-bp blunt-ended fragment was recovered using hot phenol and cloned into the MluI site (Klenow-filled) of pGL3B H1d (5' of the H1d proximal promoter). All of the preceding plasmid constructs were sequenced to confirm orientation and proper fusion points.

Mammalian Cell Lines

Mouse C127I mammary cells and HeLa cells, obtained from American Type Culture Collection, were maintained in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum in a humidified incubator at 37°C with an atmosphere of 5% CO2.

Transient Transfections

Cells were transfected using LipofectAMINE (Gibco BRL, Gaithersburg, MD) as described by the supplier's protocol. Mouse C127I cells from a single cell suspension were plated on 60-mm dishes and grown to a density of 40–60% before transfection. Transfections were performed in triplicate to help control for variation in cell number and culture conditions. Cells in serum-free medium were co-transfected using 2 µg of a specific plasmid construct plus 200 ng of pRL TK complexed with 20 µl of LipofectAMINE per dish. The LipofectAMINE/DNA complexes were incubated with cells 5 h before feeding with an equal volume of DMEM containing 20% fetal bovine serum. Lysates were made from transfected cells 48 h after feeding.

Luciferase Assays

Cell lysates were prepared and Luciferase assays were performed using slight modifications of the Dual-Luciferase reporter assay system protocols manual as supplied by Promega. After transfection, the growth medium was removed, and 4 ml of PBS was added to each 60-mm dish of cells. The dishes were gently swirled to wash the cell surfaces, the rinse solution was removed, and 400 µl of single-strength passive lysis buffer (Promega) was added to each dish. The dishes were incubated for 15 min at room temperature before the cell lysates were harvested by scraping of the bottom of the dishes with disposable plastic scrapers. Each lysate was pipetted several times to obtain a homogenous solution and was transferred to a microfuge tube. The lysates were then cleared by centrifugation in the microfuge at 4°C for 1–2 min. The lysates were transferred to fresh tubes and stored at -70°C.

Dual luciferase assays were performed in a Beckman LS6000SC scintillation counter with the coincidence counter disabled. The firefly luciferase and the Renilla luciferase assays were performed manually in one reaction tube. The firefly luciferase activity and Renilla luciferase activity were sequentially measured for 2 min each essentially as directed by the protocol set forth for manual luminometers in the Dual-Luciferase reporter assay system technical manual. Protein determinations were made spectrophotometrically using a program contained in a Soft-Pac module on a Beckman DU series 64 spectrophotometer based upon the Warburg and Christian coefficients [33].

Probes

Radiolabeled DNA for DNase I footprint analysis was produced by PCR amplification from a plasmid template. Two synthetic oligonucleotides were purchased from Genosys Biotechnologies, Inc. (The Woodlands, TX) and used for amplification, a 17-mer for the upper strand (5'-CAAGTTGCCACCATGCC-3') corresponding to nucleotides 967–951 upstream from the rat H1t transcription initiation site and a 21-mer for the lower strand (5'-CCACATTACAACAGCTTCCAA-3') corresponding to nucleotides 761–741 upstream from the rat transcription initiation site. Before PCR amplification, the oligonucleotide corresponding to the strand to be footprinted was end-labeled with [{gamma}-32P]ATP using T4 polynucleotide kinase [29]. PCR amplification was performed with AmpliTaq DNA polymerase and 200 ng of template as described [26] for 30 cycles at 94°C for 1 min, 54°C for 1 min, and 72°C for 1 min. The resulting 227-bp product was purified by electrophoresis through a 0.7% LMT agarose gel and recovered using a hot phenol procedure [6].

DNase I Footprint Analysis

Nuclear extracts were prepared from crude nuclei derived from mouse C127I cells as previously described [23,34]. DNase I footprinting reactions were carried out in a total volume of 20 µl generally following published procedures [35]. C127I nuclear extract containing 25–30 µg protein was incubated with nonspecific competitor DNA (2 µg poly dI-dC [Pharmacia Biotech, Piscataway, NJ]) and buffer D (20 mM Hepes, pH 7.9, 100 mM KCl, 0.2 mM EDTA, and 20% glycerol) in a total volume of 16 µl at 4°C for 15 min. After incubation, 2–6 ng of probe end-labeled on only one strand was added along with 2 µl of 10-strength footprinting buffer (250 mM HEPES, pH 7.6, 50 mM MgCl2, and 340 mM KCl), bringing the volume to 19 µl. Binding was carried out for 30 min at 4°C followed by DNase I digestion for 1 min using 0.5–2 Kunitz units of DNase I at the same temperature. The amount of DNase I was adjusted to achieve a ladder for each extract. Reactions were stopped by adding of 2 µl of 100 mM EDTA followed by two phenol:chloroform (1:1, v:v) extractions. The DNA in each sample was precipitated by addition of 2.5 volumes of 95% ethanol and incubation at -20°C for 1 h. DNA was recovered by centrifugation at 16 000 x g at 4°C for 30 min. The resulting DNA was dried, resuspended in 3 µl of loading solution (10 mM NaOH, 95% formamide, 0.05% bromophenol blue, and 0.05% xylene cyanole), and heated to 90°C for 3 min before loading on a denaturing 6% polyacrylamide sequencing gel.


    RESULTS
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 
An Upstream Element Silences H1t-Promoted Transcription in C127I Cells

Previous studies using transient transfection of cell lines performed with histone H1t-promoted reporters showed that both proximal and distal elements contribute to control of transcription [1, 28]. Transcription of reporter genes driven by the H1t proximal promoter in transiently transfected cells was comparatively low with respect to somatic histone H1 variant transcription [28] and exhibited a cyclic pattern of transcription similar to the pattern of somatic histone H1 transcription [36]. Regions upstream from the proximal promoter have been reported to enhance transcription [1,28] or reduce transcription [1, 28]. One upstream element, a TG box located between 521 and 305 bp upstream from the mouse H1t transcriptional initiation site, has been reported to elevate H1t transcription in transiently transfected mouse testicular cells [1].

To localize and study regulatory elements positioned upstream from the histone proximal promoter, a set of eight luciferase-based transcription expression vectors was constructed. This set of reporter vectors contained from 141 bp to 2385 bp of DNA upstream from the rat histone H1t transcriptional initiation site (Fig. 1). These reporter constructs were used in transient transfections of mouse C127I cells to test for any upstream sequences that would silence or enhance H1t-promoted transcription in nongerminal cells. Additionally, a 173-bp promoter from the rat histone H1d gene, a somatic histone variant, was used to construct a luciferase reporter vector as a positive control and for comparative purposes (Fig. 1).

Results from the transient transfections of the C127I cell line can be seen in Figure 2. A general trend observed in these experiments was that stepwise deletion of the histone H1t promoter led to progressively higher levels of expression (Fig. 2). The longest construct, pGL3B EcoRI, which contains 2385 nucleotides of sequence upstream from the H1t transcriptional start site, exhibited low luciferase activity that was indistinguishable from the promoterless pGL3 Basic plasmid. Removal of DNA to the KpnI site (at -1472) increased expression 4.7-fold (Fig. 2B). A 2.3-fold increase was seen with the deletion of the next 377 bp of DNA to the StuI site at -1095. No change in expression was seen with the removal of DNA to the PvuII site at -948. Maximal expression was detected with the pGL3B AccI construct, which is 875 nucleotides upstream from the H1t initiation site (Figs. 1, 2A, and 3). Expression observed with the pGL3B AccI construct was 44-fold the basal activity observed with the pGL3B EcoRI vector (Fig. 2B).



View larger version (25K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
FIG. 2. Transient expression of the luciferase reporter under the control of the rat H1d and H1t promoters in mouse C127I cells. A) Bar graph of normalized luciferase-specific activities from the H1d- and H1t-promoted constructs. The H1t-promoted constructs are arranged along the X axis from the longest promoter fragment (pGL3B EcoRI) to the shortest (pGL3B PstI). Luciferase-specific activity is shown on the Y axis. The means for three independent transfections are plotted along with the standard errors of the means. B) Comparison of the luciferase activities from transient transfection of C127I cells. The first column shows the mean luciferase-specific activity from each construct. The second column indicates the relative fold change in luciferase activity compared to the previous construct. The third column shows the relative fold change in luciferase activity as compared to the activity observed with pGL3B AccI (maximal level observed from all H1t constructs)

Deletion of the next 95 nucleotides downstream from the AccI site at -875 (as observed with pGL3B XbaI) reduced the level of expression 4-fold (Figs. 2 and 4). The level of expression seen with pGL3B XbaI was similar to that seen with the constructs pGL3 StuI at -1095 and pGL3 PvuII at -948. Stepwise deletions from -780 (pGL3B XbaI) to -520 (pGL3B 1866) and to -141 (pGL3B PstI) led to 2.2- and 1.3-fold increases in expression, respectively. Expression from the shortest promoter fragment tested (pGL3B PstI) was 71% of the maximum level observed with pGL3B AccI and 31-fold higher than the pGL3B EcoRI construct, which has the longest H1t promoter fragment.

Upstream Silencer Element Is Conserved in Mouse and Rat H1t Promoters

To identify any sequence motifs that could potentially be the silencer, a sequence alignment was performed comparing the 172-bp region from PvuII (-948) to XbaI (-780) of the rat to the mouse promoter (Fig. 3). Alignment was performed using a software program named ALIGN [37]. The 172-bp region from the PvuII site to the XbaI site of the rat sequence exhibited 82.6% nucleotide identity. Alignment of the 73-bp silencer region from PvuII (-948) to the AccI (-875) revealed that rat and mouse have 87.7% nucleotide identity within this region.



View larger version (23K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
FIG. 3. Alignment of the rat and mouse H1t DNA silencer regions. The alignment was made using the software program named ALIGN [37]. Numbering (nucleotides upstream from the transcriptional start) and relevant restriction endonuclease sites from the rat H1t gene sequence are indicated. The four lines above the alignment represent the four footprinted regions on the DNA positive strand, which are also shown in Figure 5. The two thick lines represent the two footprinted regions when higher levels of nonspecific competitor are used during DNase I digestion

H1t Upstream Silencer Represses Transcription by the Somatic H1d Promoter

Since a 3.9-fold increase to maximal levels in expression was observed upon deletion of DNA between -948 and -875 (Figs. 2 and 3), experiments were undertaken to determine whether the 73-bp region could repress activity of another histone promoter. A 163-bp AccI fragment from pM3R containing the 73-bp putative silencer region (Figs. 1 and 3) was subcloned adjacent to and upstream from the H1d proximal promoter in pGL3B H1d to generate pH1d/silencer (Fig. 1). The wild-type H1d promoter was found to drive luciferase expression to a level more than 3-fold higher than the maximal level observed with the H1t promoter (Fig. 2).

Comparison of the normal H1d-promoted construct pGL3B H1d to the H1d construct containing the potential silencing sequence is presented in Figure 4. Upon transient transfection of C127I cells, a 57% decrease in activity was observed when the normal H1d luciferase construct was compared to the construct containing the silencer region from the H1t promoter. Although overall luciferase activity in HeLa cells was 6-fold lower than in C127I cells, the silencer construct also reduced luciferase transcription 43% in this human cell line (Fig. 4).



View larger version (54K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
FIG. 4. Repression of H1d transcription by the silencer element. A 163-bp AccI fragment containing the silencer region was cloned upstream from the rat histone H1d promoter in the reporter vector pGL3B H1d. The resulting construct, designated pGL3B H1d/Silencer, was transfected into mouse C127I and human HeLa cells. Luciferase activity obtained from the H1d-promoted construct in each cell line was normalized to 100% for the normal promoter

Protein-DNA Binding Determined by In Vitro DNase I Footprinting

Mouse C127I nuclear proteins were bound to a radiolabeled probe that covered the silencer region from -967 to -741 (data not shown). DNase I digestion was performed in order to determine sites of protein binding to DNA within this potential silencer. In vitro DNase I footprinting experiments performed with a moderate amount of nonspecific competitor DNA (0.5 µg poly dI-dC) revealed four protected elements represented by lines in Figure 3 and shown by dotted lines in Figure 5. Two footprints were observed within the regions from -955 to -945 and -935 to -919. Two additional large footprints were observed within the regions from -919 to -890 and -885 to -835. It should be noted that the AccI cut site used to prepare the truncated promoter that removed the silencer region is located within the fourth footprint (-885 to -835) (Figs. 3 and 5).



View larger version (76K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
FIG. 5. DNase I footprint of the silencer region. The DNA sequencing reactions for the footprinted region are in lanes labeled G, A, T, and C. Lanes labeled with F are DNase I digestions of protein-free "Free" DNA. Lanes labeled 0.5 and 2.0 are DNase I digestions of DNA bound to C127I nuclear proteins containing 0.5 µg or 2.0 µg of poly dI-dC as nonspecific competitor. The distance upstream from the H1t transcriptional start site is indicated on the left side of the figure. Relevant restriction sites are indicated on the right side of the figure. Dotted lines indicate footprinted regions on the DNA positive strand

When DNase I footprinting assays were performed under more stringent conditions (using 2 µg of nonspecific competitor), the two footprints in the region from -955 to -919 were lost, and the two large footprints were reduced to the regions -903 to -887 and -855 to -835 as shown in Figures 3 and 5.


    DISCUSSION
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 
The testis-specific histone H1t gene is the only member of the mammalian H1 histone family that exhibits tissue-specific transcription. Both proximal and distal elements have been implicated in the developmental activation and enhancement of H1t transcription in the testis [1, 22, 23,26, 28]. Transcriptional repression of H1t in nonexpressing tissues and cells may be mediated through proximal elements such as the GC box 2 element [25] as well as distally located upstream elements. Previous work with the rat [28] and the mouse [1] promoters have demonstrated that H1t transcription is negatively regulated by distal upstream promoter regions in somatic cell lines and in testicular primary cells. To localize cis-acting distal elements that silence transcription in nonexpressing cells, we analyzed mutant promoter reporter constructs using fragments containing up to 2385 nucleotides upstream from the rat H1t transcriptional initiation site.

Stepwise deletion of the H1t promoter revealed several potential regulatory regions. Our results suggest that most if not all of the elements necessary for total silencing of H1t promoter activity in somatic cells are located within 2.4 kb of the H1t transcriptional start site. These results (Figs. 1 and 2) are in agreement with the known transcription pattern of this testis-specific histone gene and are consistent with the results of transgenic mouse studies in our laboratory and in other laboratories [26, 27].

Our data show that removal of DNA from -948 to -875 resulted in the maximal level of luciferase activity observed with any H1t-promoted reporter vector (Fig. 2). Loss of this 74-bp region resulted in a 3.9-fold increase in expression. The total or partial elimination of a repressor's cognate DNA binding site is likely to disrupt the normal binding of the repressor, causing an increase in transcription. Interestingly, a decrease in activity was observed with the removal of the next 95 bp of downstream sequence from -875 to -780 (pGL3B AccI to pGL3B XbaI). This decrease may be due to the removal or disruption of a downstream enhancer element between AccI and XbaI sites.

It is noteworthy that deletion of sequences from -780 to -520 (pGL3B XbaI to pGL3B 1866) led to a 2.2-fold increase in transcription, and deletion of sequences from -520 to -141 led to a further 1.3-fold increase in luciferase activity. A portion of this region from -693 to -174 has been reported to contain sequences that increase H1t transcription at least 2-fold in synchronized mouse L cells [28]. Our results indicate that the presence of these two regions contribute to transcriptional repression. Since the transfected C127I cultures we used were not synchronized, it is likely that we detected the contribution of factors that may influence transcription during all phases of the cell cycle. It should be mentioned that the region from -520 to -141 contains a TG box that has been reported to increase transcription of H1t in mouse testicular cells [1]. Our results indicate that this region acts to repress transcription in somatic cells.

Support for the ability of the region of the H1t promoter from -948 to -875 to silence transcription was observed by placing the putative H1t silencer upstream from the somatic histone H1d proximal promoter. Apparently, changing the position of the element did not eliminate its ability to repress transcription, but the strength of the silencer appeared to be reduced. To test the possibility that this silencer element may be present in other mammals, we transfected a human cell line. Transient transfection of HeLa cells with the H1d/silencer construct also showed a decrease in transcription when compared to the H1d construct (Fig. 4).

We are currently attempting to identify factors that bind to the silencer. Potential binding sites have been identified with TRANSFAC, a program to aid in identification of consensus binding elements [38]. Sites identified in the region from -903 to -887 include C/EBP beta [39] (positive strand) and AR [40] and HiNF-A [13] (negative strand). Sites identified in the region from -855 to -835 include Oct-1 [41], YY1 [42], C/EBP1 [39], and SRF [43] (positive strand) and c-Myc [44] (negative strand). The Oct-1 binding site spans the AccI restriction site used to delete the silencer region. It is possible that the silencer region actually extends through the fourth footprint region (downstream from the AccI site) and that repressor proteins bind in the region of third and fourth footprints (Fig. 5). Alignment of the rat promoter with the mouse promoter within these regions yielded a high degree of nucleotide identity. The potential binding of these factors to these silencer regions is being tested currently in our laboratory [52].

In summary, we have identified a distal region upstream from the rat H1t gene that contains potential sites for binding of transcriptional regulators. Eukaryotic repressors can work in several ways to reduce transcription [45]. Repressors can directly compete for specific activator binding sites on DNA and interfere with activator binding [46, 47]. Repressors can co-occupy sites on DNA with activators and interfere with the activity of the DNA-bound activator (quenching) as seen with cytokine transcriptional control [48] and insulin gene regulation [49]. Repressors can also interfere with the general transcriptional machinery and affect transcription [50, 51]. Future experiments will be designed to determine which of these mechanisms may lead to repression of transcription of the testis-specific histone H1t gene in cell types other than primary spermatocytes.


    FOOTNOTES
 
1 This research was supported by a Merit Review grant from the Department of Veterans Affairs (S.R.G.) and by NIH Grant HD29381 (S.R.G.). Back

2 Correspondence: Sidney R. Grimes, Medical Research Service (151), Overton Brooks Veterans Administration Medical Center, 510 E. Stoner Ave., Shreveport, LA 71101-4295. FAX: 318 429 5747; srgrimes{at}prysm.net Back

Accepted: May 20, 1999.

Received: April 6, 1999.


    REFERENCES
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 

  1. Drabent B, Doenecke D. Testis-specific expression of the mouse histone gene H1t is regulated by several promoter elements. Biol Reprod 1997; 57:1375–1383.[Abstract]
  2. Khadake JR, Rao MR. DNA- and chromatin-condensing properties of rat testes H1a and H1t compared to those of rat liver H1bdec; H1t is a poor condenser of chromatin. Biochemistry 1995; 34:15792–15801.[CrossRef][Medline]
  3. Brown DT, Alexander BT, Sittman DB. Differential effect of H1 variant overexpression on cell cycle progression and gene expression. Nucleic Acids Res 1996; 24:486–493.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  4. De Lucia F, Faraone-Mennella MR, D'Erme M, Quesada P, Caiafa P, Farina B. Histone-induced condensation of rat testis chromatin: testis-specific H1t versus somatic H1 variants. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 1994; 198:32–39.[CrossRef][Medline]
  5. Thoma F, Koller T, Klug A. Involvement of histone H1 in the organization of the nucleosome and of the salt-dependent superstructures of chromatin. J Cell Biol 1979; 83:403–427.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  6. Guo L, Yang RCA, Wu R. An improved strategy for rapid direct sequencing of both strands of long DNA molecules cloned in a plasmid. Nucleic Acids Res 1983; 1983:5521–5540.
  7. Croston GE, Kerrigan LA, Lira LM, Marshak DR, Kadonaga JT. Sequence-specific antirepression of histone H1-mediated inhibition of basal RNA polymerase II transcription. Science 1991; 251:643–649.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  8. Juan LJ, Utley RT, Adams CC, Vettese-Dadey M, Workman JL. Differential repression of transcription factor binding by histone H1 is regulated by the core histone amino termini. EMBO J 1994; 13:6031–6040.[Medline]
  9. Doenecke D, Albig W, Bouterfa H, Drabent B. Organization and expression of H1 histone and H1 replacement histone genes. J Cell Biochem 1994; 54:423–431.[CrossRef][Medline]
  10. Coles LS, Wells JR. An H1 histone gene-specific 5' element and evolution of H1 and H5 genes. Nucleic Acids Res 1985; 13:585–594.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  11. Duncliffe KN, Rondahl ME, Wells JR. A H1 histone gene-specific AC-box-related element influences transcription from a major chicken H1 promoter. Gene 1995; 163:227–232.[CrossRef][Medline]
  12. Dalton S, Wells JR. A gene-specific promoter element is required for optimal expression of the histone H1 gene in S-phase. Embo J 1988; 7:49–56.[Medline]
  13. van Wijnen AJ, Wright KL, Massung RF, Gerretsen M, Stein JL, Stein GS. Two target sites for protein binding in the promoter region of a cell cycle regulated human H1 histone gene. Nucleic Acids Res 1988; 16:571–592.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  14. Osley MA. The regulation of histone synthesis in the cell cycle. Annu Rev Biochem 1991; 60:827–861.[CrossRef][Medline]
  15. Gallinari P, La Bella F, Heintz N. Characterization and purification of H1TF2, a novel CCAAT-binding protein that interacts with a histone H1 subtype-specific consensus element. Mol Cell Biol 1989; 9:1566–1575.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  16. La Bella F, Gallinari P, McKinney J, Heintz N. Histone H1 subtype-specific consensus elements mediate cell cycle-regulated transcription in vitro. Genes Dev 1989; 3:1982–1990.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  17. van den Ent FM, van Wijnen AJ, Lian JB, Stein JL, Stein GS. Cell cycle controlled histone H1, H3, and H4 genes share unusual arrangements of recognition motifs for HiNF-D supporting a coordinate promoter binding mechanism. J Cell Physiol 1994; 159:515–530.[CrossRef][Medline]
  18. van Wijnen AJ, van Gurp MF, de Ridder MC, Tufarelli C, Last TJ, Birnbaum M, Vaughan PS, Giordano A, Krek W, Neufeld EJ, Stein JL, Stein GS. CDP/cut is the DNA-binding subunit of histone gene transcription factor HiNF-D: a mechanism for gene regulation at the G1/S phase cell cycle transition point independent of transcription factor E2F. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1996; 93:11516–11521.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  19. Grimes SR, Wolfe SA, Koppel DA. Tissue-specific binding of testis nuclear proteins to a sequence element within the promoter of the testis-specific histone H1t gene. Arch Biochem Biophys 1992; 296:402–409.[CrossRef][Medline]
  20. Grimes SR, Wolfe SA, Koppel DA. Temporal correlation between the appearance of testis-specific DNA-binding proteins and the onset of transcription of the testis-specific histone H1t gene. Exp Cell Res 1992; 201:216–224.[CrossRef][Medline]
  21. Grimes SR Jr, vanWert J, Wolfe SA. Regulation of transcription of the testis-specific histone H1t gene by multiple promoter elements. Mol Biol Rep 1997; 24:175–184.[CrossRef][Medline]
  22. vanWert JM, Wolfe SA, Grimes SR. Binding of nuclear proteins to a conserved histone H1t promoter element suggests an important role in testis-specific transcription. J Cell Biochem 1996; 60:348–362.[CrossRef][Medline]
  23. Wolfe SA, vanWert JM, Grimes SR. Expression of the testis-specific histone H1t gene: evidence for involvement of multiple cis-acting promoter elements. Biochemistry 1995; 34:12461–12469.[CrossRef][Medline]
  24. Clare SE, Hatfield WR, Fantz DA, Kistler WS, Kistler MK. Characterization of the promoter region of the rat testis-specific histone H1t gene. Biol Reprod 1997; 56:73–82.[Abstract]
  25. Clare SE, Fantz DA, Kistler WS, Kistler MK. The testis-specific histone H1t gene is strongly repressed by a G/C-rich region just downstream of the TATA box. J Biol Chem 1997; 272:33028–33036.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  26. vanWert JM, Wolfe SA, Grimes SR. Testis-specific expression of the rat histone Hlt gene in transgenic mice. Biochemistry 1995; 34:8733–8743.[CrossRef][Medline]
  27. Bartell JG, Davis T, Kremer EJ, Dewey MJ, Kistler WS. Expression of the rat testis-specific histone H1t gene in transgenic mice. One kilobase of 5'-flanking sequence mediates correct expression of a lacZ fusion gene. J Biol Chem 1996; 271:4046–4054.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  28. Kremer EJ, Kistler WS. Analysis of the promoter for the gene encoding the testis-specific histone H1t in a somatic cell line: evidence for cell-cycle regulation and modulation by distant upstream sequences. Gene 1992; 110:167–173.[CrossRef][Medline]
  29. Sambrook J, Fritsch EF, Maniatis T. Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual. Second ed. Cold Spring Harbor: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; 1989.
  30. Birnboim HC, Doly J. A rapid alkaline extraction procedure for screening recombinant plasmid DNA. Nucleic Acids Res 1979; 7:1513–1523.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  31. Grimes SR, Wolfe SA, Anderson JV, Stein GS, Stein JL. Structural and functional analysis of the rat testis-specific histone H1t gene. J Cell Biochem 1990; 44:1–17.[Medline]
  32. Cole KD, Kandala JC, Kremer E, Kistler WS. Isolation of a genomic clone encoding the rat histone variant, H1d. Gene 1990; 89:265–269.[CrossRef][Medline]
  33. Warburg O, Christian W. Isolierung und Kristallisation des Garungsferments Enolase. Biochem Z 1942; 310:384–414.
  34. Dignam JD, Lebovitz RM, Roeder RG. Accurate transcription initiation by RNA polymerase II in a soluble extract from isolated mammalian nuclei. Nucleic Acids Res 1983; 11:1475–1489.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  35. Sierra F. BioMethods. In: Azzi A, Polak JM, Saluz HP (eds.), A Laboratory Guide to In Vitro Transcription. First ed. Vol. 2. Basel: Birkhauser Verlag Basel; 1990: 148.
  36. Dailey L, Roberts SB, Heintz N. Purification of human histone H4 gene-specific transcription factors H4TF–1 and H4TF–2. Genes Dev 1988; 2:1700–1712.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  37. Pearson WR. Rapid and sensitive sequence comparison with FASTP and FASTA. Methods Enzymol 1990; 183:63–98.[Medline]
  38. Heinemeyer T, Wingender E, Reuter I, Hermjakob H, Kel AE, Kel OV, Ignatieva EV, Ananko EA, Podkolodnaya OA, Kolpakov FA, Podkolodny NL, Kolchanov NA. Databases on transcriptional regulation: TRANSFAC, TRRD and COMPEL. Nucleic Acids Res 1998; 26:362–367.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  39. Chang CJ, Chen TT, Lei HY, Chen DS, Lee SC. Molecular cloning of a transcription factor, AGP/EBP, that belongs to members of the C/EBP family. Mol Cell Biol 1990; 10:6642–6653.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  40. Chang CS, Kokontis J, Liao ST. Structural analysis of complementary DNA and amino acid sequences of human and rat androgen receptors. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1988; 85:7211–7215.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  41. Fletcher C, Heintz N, Roeder RG. Purification and characterization of OTF-1, a transcription factor regulating cell cycle expression of a human histone H2b gene. Cell 1987; 51:773–781.[CrossRef][Medline]
  42. Shi Y, Seto E, Chang LS, Shenk T. Transcriptional repression by YY1, a human GLI-Kruppel-related protein, and relief of repression by adenovirus E1A protein. Cell 1991; 67:377–388.[CrossRef][Medline]
  43. Graham R, Gilman M. Distinct protein targets for signals acting at the c-fos serum response element. Science 1991; 251:189–192.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  44. Halazonetis TD, Kandil AN. Determination of the c-MYC DNA-binding site. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1991; 88:6162–6166.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  45. Johnson AD. The price of repression. Cell 1995; 81:655–658.[CrossRef][Medline]
  46. Small S, Kraut R, Hoey T, Warrior R, Levine M. Transcriptional regulation of a pair-rule stripe in Drosophila. Genes Dev 1995; 5:827–839.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  47. MacDonald GH, Itoh-Lindstrom Y, Ting JP-Y. The transcriptional regulatory protein, YB-1, promotes single-stranded regions in the DRA promoter. J Biol Chem 1995; 270:3527–3533.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  48. Scheinman RI, Gualberto A, Jewell CM, Cidlowski JA, Baldwin AS. Characterization of mechanisms involved in transrepression of NF-{kappa}B by activated glucocorticoid receptors. Mol Cell Biol 1995; 15:943–953.[Abstract]
  49. Robinson BLWG, Henderson E, Massari ME, Murre C, Stein R. c-Jun Inhibits insulin control element-mediated transcription by affecting the transactivation potential of the E2A gene product. Mol Cell Biol 1995; 15:1398–1404.[Abstract]
  50. Fondell JD, Roy AL, Roeder RG. Unliganded thyroid hormone receptor inhibits formation of a functional preinitiation complex: implications for active repression. Genes Dev 1993; 7:1400–1410.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  51. Wahi M, Johnson AD. Identification of genes required for alpha 2 repression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Genetics 1995; 140:79–90.[Abstract]
  52. Wolfe SA, Grimes SR. Binding of nuclear proteins to an upstream element involved in transcriptional regulation of the testis-specific histone H1t gene. J Cell Biochem 1999; (In press).



This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
DevelopmentHome page
E. Shang, H. D. Nickerson, D. Wen, X. Wang, and D. J. Wolgemuth
The first bromodomain of Brdt, a testis-specific member of the BET sub-family of double-bromodomain-containing proteins, is essential for male germ cell differentiation
Development, October 1, 2007; 134(19): 3507 - 3515.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Nucleic Acids ResHome page
M. Siep, E. Sleddens-Linkels, S. Mulders, H. van Eenennaam, E. Wassenaar, W. A. Van Cappellen, J. Hoogerbrugge, J. A. Grootegoed, and W. M. Baarends
Basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor Tcfl5 interacts with the Calmegin gene promoter in mouse spermatogenesis
Nucleic Acids Res., December 7, 2004; 32(21): 6425 - 6436.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Biol. Reprod.Home page
G. C. Horvath, W. S. Kistler, and M. K. Kistler
RFX2 Is a Potential Transcriptional Regulatory Factor for Histone H1t and Other Genes Expressed During the Meiotic Phase of Spermatogenesis
Biol Reprod, November 1, 2004; 71(5): 1551 - 1559.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Biol. Reprod.Home page
S. A. Wolfe and S. R. Grimes
Specific Binding of Nuclear Proteins to a Bifunctional Promoter Element Upstream of the H1/AC Box of the Testis-Specific Histone H1t Gene
Biol Reprod, June 1, 2003; 68(6): 2267 - 2273.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Biol. Reprod.Home page
D. C. Wilkerson, S. A. Wolfe, and S. R. Grimes
H1t/GC-Box and H1t/TE1 Element Are Essential for Promoter Activity of the Testis-Specific Histone H1t Gene
Biol Reprod, October 1, 2002; 67(4): 1157 - 1164.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Biol. Reprod.Home page
G. C. Horvath, S. E. Clare, M. K. Kistler, and W. Stephen Kistler
Characterization of the H1t Promoter: Role of Conserved Histone 1 AC and TG Elements and Dominance of the Cap-Proximal Silencer
Biol Reprod, October 1, 2001; 65(4): 1074 - 1081.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Biol. Reprod.Home page
R. Singal, J. vanWert, M. Bashambu, S. A. Wolfe, D. C. Wilkerson, and S. R. Grimes
Testis-Specific Histone H1t Gene Is Hypermethylated in Nongerminal Cells in the Mouse
Biol Reprod, November 1, 2000; 63(5): 1237 - 1244.
[Abstract] [Full Text]


Home page
Biol. Reprod.Home page
J. G. Bartell, D. A. Fantz, T. Davis, M. J. Dewey, M. K. Kistler, and W. S. Kistler
Elimination of Male Germ Cells in Transgenic Mice by the Diphtheria Toxin A Chain Gene Directed by the Histone H1t Promoter
Biol Reprod, August 1, 2000; 63(2): 409 - 416.
[Abstract] [Full Text]


This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Wolfe, S. A.
Right arrow Articles by Grimes, S. R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Wolfe, S. A.
Right arrow Articles by Grimes, S. R.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Wolfe, S. A.
Right arrow Articles by Grimes, S. R.


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS