Ac i a ion o Telome ase RNA Gene P omo e Ac i i y by NF-Y,
Sp1, and he Re inoblas oma P o ein and Rep ession by Sp3
1
Jiang-Qin Zhao*, Rosalind M. Glasspool*, S acey F. Hoa e*, Alan Bilsland*, Is an Sza ma i
y
and W. Nicol Kei h*
*CRC Depa men o Medical Oncology, Uni e si y o Glasgow, CRC Bea son Labo a o ies, Ga scube Es a e,
Swi chback Road, Bea sden, Glasgow G61 1BD, UK and
y
Dep o Biochemis y and Molecula Biology, Uni e si y
Medical School o Deb ecen, Hunga y
Abs ac
Exp ession o he human elome ase RNA componen
gene, hTERC is essen ial o elome ase ac i i y. The
hTERC gene is exp essed du ing emb yogenesis and
hen down egula ed du ing no mal de elopmen , lea ing
mos adul soma ic cells de oid o hTERC exp ession.
Du ing oncogenesis, howe e , hTERC is e-exp essed
consequen ly con ibu ing o he un es ic ed p oli e a-
i e capaci y o many human cance s. Thus he iden i i-
ca ion o he molecula basis o he egula ion o he
elome ase RNA componen gene in no mal cells and i s
de egula ion in cance cells is o immedia e in e es . We
ha e p e iously cloned he hTERC p omo e and in his
s udy ha e iden i ied se e al ansc ip ion ac o s ha
modula e he exp ession o hTERC. We demons a e ha
NF-Y binding o he CCAAT egion o he hTERC
p omo e is essen ial o p omo e ac i i y. Sp1 and he
e inoblas oma p o ein (pRb) a e ac i a o s o he
hTERC p omo e and Sp3 is a po en ep esso . These
ac o s appea o ac in a species-speci ic manne .
Whe eas Sp1 and Sp3 ac on he human, bo ine, and
mouse TERC p omo e s, pRb ac i a es only he human
and bo ine p omo e , and NF-Y is only essen ial o he
human TERC gene. Neoplasia (2000) 2, 531±539.
Keywo ds: elome ase, NF - Y, hTERC, e inoblas oma, hTR.
In oduc ion
Telome es a e nucleop o ein complexes a he end o linea
ch omosomes and a e conside ed essen ial o main aining
ch omosomal in eg i y [1]. In he e en o c i ical elome e-
sequence loss du ing cell di ision, a cell-cycle a es known
as eplica i e senescence is induced [1,2]. Telome ase is a
ibonucleop o ein e e se ansc ip ase ha has he abili y o
syn hesize elome ic sequence and hus coun e balance
elome e a i ion. Human elome ase ac i i y in i o can be
econs i u ed by he RNA subuni , hTERC, and he ca aly ic
p o ein componen encoded by he hTERT gene, al hough i
is likely hese co e subuni s will be augmen ed by addi ional
ac o s o unc ion op imally [1,2]. hTERC gene exp ession
is egula ed du ing no mal human de elopmen , wi h he high
le els o exp ession ound du ing emb yogenesis dec easing
as issue di e en ia ion occu s. By he 10 h pos na al week,
he adul pa e n o hTERC exp ession is e iden wi h only
p ima y spe ma ocy es e aining high le els o exp ession
[3]. Al hough hTERC exp ession is absen om mos adul
soma ic cells, low hTERC exp ession can be de ec ed in
some cells such as he egene a i e egions o epi helium
and ac i a ed lymphocy es [3±5]. Howe e , du ing ca cino-
genesis he ep ession o hTERC in he cance cell is los o
de egula ed, hus con ibu ing o he almos uni e sal
eac i a ion o elome ase in cance cells [2,6]. Recen
s udies ha e indica ed ha ansc ip ional egula ion may
ha e a ole o play in he con ol o hTERC gene exp ession
[7,8]. Thus he iden i ica ion o he molecula basis o
hTERC gene egula ion in no mal cells and i s de egula ion in
cance cells is o immedia e in e es . I is also an eme ging
heme in ansc ip ional con ol ha egula ion esul s om
he unc ional in e ac ions be ween g oups o ansc ip ion
ac o s. Thus, he aim o he p esen s udy was o iden i y
mul iple ansc ip ion ac o s ha egula e he hTERC gene
p omo e .
Ma e ials and Me hods
Si e-Di ec ed Mu agenesis and Cons uc s
The human p omo e luci e ase cons uc s, hP om876,
hP om176, hP om120, and mouse TERC p omo e con-
s uc mP om628 we e made by inse ing PCR p oduc s
in o pGL-3 Basic (P omega Sou hamp on, U.K.). De ails
o he p ime s used can be ob ained om he au ho s.
O ien a ion and sequence we e con i med by sequencing.
The (hP om176h10m1) cons uc was gene a ed using he
si e-di ec ed mu agenesis ki (QuikChange, S a agene
Camb idge, UK) o in oduce a ou -bp mu a ion a 58/
55. The p ime used o cons uc ion o his si e- eplaced
mu an is shown in Figu e 1b(h10m1). I was subcloned
Neoplasia .Vol. 2, No. 6, 2000, pp. 531 ± 539
www.na u e.com/neo
531
Abb e ia ions: EMSA, elec opho e ic mobili y shi assay
Add ess all co espondence o: W. Nicol Kei h, CRC Depa men o Medical Oncology,
Uni e si y o Glasgow, CRC Bea son Labo a o ies, Alexande S one Building, Ga scube
Es a e, Swi chback Road, Bea sden, Glasgow G61 1BD, UK.
E-mail: [email p o ec ed]
1
This wo k was suppo ed by he Cance Resea ch Campaign ( UK ) and Glasgow
Uni e si y.
Recei ed 1 Sep embe 2000; Accep ed 22 Sep embe 2000.
Copy igh #2000 Na u e Ame ica, Inc. All igh s ese ed 1522-8002/00/$15.00
RESEARCH ARTICLE
in o he pGL3 luci e ase epo e ec o and sequenced o
con i m he mu a ion.
P epa a ion o Nuclea P o ein Ex ac s
HeLa cells we e lysed in TMS (5 mM T is±HCl pH 7.5,
2.5 mM MgCl
2
, 125 mM suc ose plus 0.25% T i on X-100),
and nuclei we e ha es ed by cen i uga ion. Nuclei we e
esuspended in 5 ml o TMS and 0.1 olumes o 4 m NaCl.
A e cen i uga ion, ammonium sul a e was added and he
p ecipi a e pelle ed and edissol ed in E50 bu e (50 mM
ammonium sulpha e, 20 mM KOH±Hepes, pH 7.9, 5 mM
MgCl
2
, 0.1 mM EDTA, 0.1% ( / ) B ij 35, 20% ( / )
glyce ol, 1 mM DTT).
Elec opho esis Mobili y Shi Assay
Elec opho esis mobili y shi assays (EMSA) we e
pe o med by using he EMSA ki (P omega). HeLa nuclea
p o eins we e incuba ed in 15 l o eac ion con aining 4%
glyce ol, 1 mM MgCl
2,
0.5 mM di hio h ei ol (DTT), 0.5 mM
EDTA, 50 mM NaCl, 10 mM T is±HCl, pH 7.5, and 2.0 g
poly(dI±dC) wi h o wi hou 100- old mola excess o
unlabeled DNA compe i o s on ice o 10 min, ollowed by
addi ion o he adiolabeled p obe. Fo supe shi assays,
an ibodies agains Sp1, Sp3, Ap-2, E s2, c/EBP,NF-1,
NF-YC (San a C uz Bio echnology San a C uz, CA), NF-
YA, and NF-YB, we e added o he eac ion mix u e 25
minu es be o e he addi ion o he p obe. All DNA±p o ein
complexes we e esol ed by elec opho esis on 5% na i e
polyac ylamide. The c/EBP, CBF, and NF-1 sequences used
in EMSA a e om San a C uz Bio echnology: sc-2525, sc-
2591, and sc-2553. The NF-Y sequence is om Geneka
Bio echnology Inc. (Mon eal, Canada).
T ans ec ion Assays
T ans ec ions we e ca ied ou using Supe ec ans ec-
ion eagen (Qiagen Wes Sussex, UK) as p e iously
desc ibed, [8]. To s anda dize he amoun o hTERC plasmid
DNA in ans ec ion assays, pu i ied plasmid DNA was i s
quan i ied by UV spec opho ome y. Then 1.0 g o plasmid
DNA was diges ed wi h XhoI/HindIII and agmen s esol ed
on a 6% PAGE gel o de ec he 176-bp p omo e agmen .
The amoun o each DNA sample was analyzed by
Phospho Image wi h ImageQuan so wa e analysis (Mole-
cula Dynamics Bio-Rad, Hemel Hemps ead, UK). Fo
co ans ec ions, 3 g o hP om176 o 1 g o hP om876
epo e plasmids was co ans ec ed wi h 0.01 o 3 g o pNF-
YAm29, pNF-Y13, pCMV-Sp1, pCMV-Sp3, pSV40-Rb
exp ession ec o s. The hP om176 cons uc was used
h oughou his s udy bu he hP om867 cons uc was also
used o ex end he analysis o he minimal human p omo e
cons uc and es whe he he maximal p omo e esponded
o modi ie genes in a simila way o he minimal p omo e .
Figu e 1. ( a ) hTERC p omo e sequence and po en ial ansc ip ion ac o ecogni ion si es. A o al o 176 bp o he human p omo e sequence is shown and
po en ial egula o y mo i s, iden i ied by compu e analysis, a e unde lined on he sequence. The ansc ip ional s a si e is ma ked as ``+ 1.'' Fou po en ial Sp1 si es
a e shown and e med Sp1.1 o Sp1.4. Sp1.4 con ains wo o e lapping Sp1 consensus si es. The names o he oligonucleo ides used in elec opho esis mobili y shi
assays ( EMSA ) a e indica ed unde hei espec i e si es. ( b ) Oligonucleo ides used in EMSA and mu agenesis s udies o he hTERC p omo e . The sequence o
he wild - ype oligonucleo ides co e ing po en ial ansc ip ion ac o ecogni ion si es a e shown. Oligonucleo ide h9 co e s Sp1.1 and he adjacen TATA - box, h10
co e s he CCAAT box, h4 co e s Sp1.2 and h11 co e s he closely opposed Sp1.3 and Sp1.4 si es. Mu a ions, h10m1 and h10m2, we e in oduced in o he wild-
ype oligonucleo ide h10 and used in EMSA and in he cons uc ion o he mu an epo e cons uc ( hP om176h10m1 ) .
532 hTERC P omo e Regula ion Zhao e al.
Neoplasia .Vol. 2, No. 6, 2000
Bo h human cons uc s esponded in co ans ec ion expe i-
men s in iden ical ways.
The G ea EscAPe SEAP Sys em (Clon ech Basing-
s oke, UK) was used o con ol o ans ec ion e iciency in
expe imen s wi h he mu an p omo e cons uc s, he
pSV40-Rb ec o , he pNF-Y13 and pNF-YAm29 exp es-
sion ec o s. In keeping wi h o he s we ound ha he Sp1
and Sp3 exp ession ec o s modula ed he ac i i y o he
SV40 p omo e used in he pSEAP2-Con ol ec o [9,10].
Fo hese expe imen s semiquan i a i e PCR o he ans-
ec ed plasmid was ca ied ou using luci e ase-speci ic
p ime s and p oduc s adjus ed ela i e o inpu genomic
DNA.
The means and s anda d de ia ions o duplica e samples
om ep esen a i e ans ec ions a e shown and all expe i-
men s we e ca ied ou a leas h ee imes in duplica e. The
expe imen s shown in Figu e 4bused e inoblas oma p o ein
(pRb) a ian s de eloped by Selle s e al. [16].
Cloning o bTERC
A PCR p oduc encompassing he 320 bp o he bTERC
p omo e was ampli ied using he p ime s bTR 1
GCGCTCGAGCCGTACCTGGCTTTTAAGAG and bTR 1
CGAAGCTTAGATGAGAAATGGCTGCCAC and bo ine
genomic DNA as a empla e (Clon ech). P ime s we e
designed om he bTERC gene sequence [11]. This was
hen cloned in o luci e ase epo e cons uc pGL3 Basic
(P omega). O ien a ion and sequence o he inse was
checked by sequencing. The bTERC p omo e sequence has
been submi ed o GenBank, accession numbe AF176663.
Resul s
We ha e p e iously iden i ied he p oximal egion o he
hTERC p omo e necessa y o di ec hTERC ansc ip ion
[8]. DNase I oo p in ing iden i ied a 176-bp egion wi hin
his which con ained ou p o ec ed egions (da a no
shown). Compu e analysis e ealed ha hese co e-
sponded o ou pu a i e Sp1 binding si es and a CCAAT
box (Figu e 1: h4, h9, h11, h10). In he p esen s udy a
combina ion o gel shi assays, mu a ion analysis, and
ans ec ion assays ha e been used o iden i y key egula-
o s o hTERC gene exp ession.
The NF-Y T ansc ip ional Complex In e ac s wi h he
hTERC CCAAT Box and This In e ac ion Is Cen al o
hTERC T ansc ip ional E iciency
EMSA was used o iden i y whe he cellula p o eins
in e ac wi h he CCAAT box ha is ound ups eam o he
ansc ip ional s a si e. P o ein ex ac om he HeLa cell
line was used wi h a adiolabeled oligonucleo ide co e-
sponding o he wild- ype hTERC CCAAT box sequence
(h10). A p o ein±DNA complex was iden i ied (Figu e 2a,
lane 1) and speci ici y o binding con i med by compe i ion
s udies. Compe i ion by he wild- ype oligonucleo ide i sel
and by an oligonucleo ide wi h a mu a ion ou side he
CCAAT box (h10m2) abolished he complex (Figu e 2a,
lanes 2 and 4). In con as he oligonucleo ide wi h a
mu a ion wi hin he CCAAT box (h10m1) was unable o
compe e o p o ein binding (Figu e 2a,lane 3).
To asce ain he likely componen s o he hTERC
CCAAT-binding complex, h ee candida e CCAAT-binding
complexes we e in es iga ed; NF-Y (also known as CBF
and CP1), c/EBP, and NF-1. Two consensus oligonucleo-
ides o NF-Y ( e med NF-Y and CBF) we e able o
compe e o hTERC CCAAT binding (Figu e 2a,lanes 5 and
6), whe eas consensus oligonucleo ides o c/EBP and NF-
1 we e no (lanes 7 and 8). An ibody supe shi analysis
e ealed ha he hTERC CCAAT-binding complex con-
ained wo subuni s o he NF-Y p o ein complex, NF-YA
and NF-YB. Nuclea ex ac s we e p eincuba ed wi h
an ibodies speci ic o he h ee componen s o he NF-Y
complex, NF-YA, NF-YB and NF-YC, and wi h an ibodies
speci ic o o he CCAAT-binding complexes c/EBP and NF-
1. Dis up ion o he CCAAT complex and supe shi was only
seen wi h an ibodies o he NF-Y complex componen s NF-
YA and NF-YB (lanes 10 and 11). An ibodies o he NF-YC
subuni o NF-Y did no dis up he complex (lane 12). This
has been obse ed by o he s and is possibly due o
inaccessibili y o he C subuni o he an ibody on complex
o ma ion [12]. An ibodies o NF-1 and c/EBP had no e ec
on complex o ma ion (lanes 13 and 14).
To e alua e he unc ional signi icance o NF-Y complex
o ma ion on he hTERC p omo e , we used a dominan
nega i e mu an o NF-YA (NF-YAm29) in ans ec ion
expe imen s [13]. As shown in Figu e 2b, co ans ec ion o
NF-YAm29 speci ically ep esses hTERC p omo e ac i i y
i e- o se en- old in a dose-dependen manne , whe eas
co ans ec ion o he wild- ype NF-YA subuni had no e ec
on p omo e ac i i y. These esul s con i m ha NF-Y is he
majo ac o ha ansac i a es he hTERC p omo e h ough
he CCAAT box. The unc ional signi icance o he CCAAT
box and i s in e ac ion wi h NF-Y was also con i med by
in oducing a mu a ion in o he basal p omo e egion. This
was cloned in o a luci e ase epo e cons uc (hP om176-
h10m1). Simila ly a p omo e cons uc wi h 56-bp dele ion
o he 5
0
end, including he CCAAT box egion, was
gene a ed (hP om120). P omo e ac i i ies o he mu an
and dele ed CCAAT box cons uc s we e assayed by
ans ec ion in o he bladde ca cinoma cell line 5637 and
compa ed o he wild- ype p omo e ac i i y. Mu a ion o
dele ion o he CCAAT box sequence elemen comple ely
abolishes hTERC p omo e ac i i y (Figu e 2c), sugges ing
ha his elemen is he si e o ac ion o an ac i a o o
hTERC p omo e ac i i y and cen al o hTERC ansc ip-
ional e iciency.
The Sp1 and Sp3 T ansc ip ion Fac o s In e ac wi h
Mul iple Si es wi hin he hTERC P omo e and Can
Modula e P omo e Ac i i y
To iden i y cellula p o eins in e ac ing wi h he ou
pu a i e Sp1 si es in he hTERC p omo e , EMSA we e
pe o med wi h h ee oligonucleo ides (Figu e 1b: h9, h4,
and h11) spanning he ou si es (Figu e 1aand b). P o ein
complexes cha ac e is ic o binding o Sp1 and Sp3 [14]
we e seen wi h all h ee oligonucleo ides (Figu e 3a,lanes 1,
Neoplasia .Vol. 2, No. 6, 2000
hTERC P omo e Regula ion Zhao e al. 533
Figu e 2. ( a ) Iden i ica ion o nuclea p o eins binding o he CCAAT box. HeLa nuclea ex ac was mixed wi h adiolabeled oligonucleo ide p obe and analyzedby
EMSA. Speci ic DNA ±p o ein complexes a e indica ed by he a ow on he le . Complexes supe shi ed by p eincuba ion wi h an ibodies a e shown on he igh by
a ows ma ked ``ss.'' The oligonucleo ide h10 was used as a p obe and he oligonucleo ides used as compe i o s a e indica ed a he op o lanes 2 o 8. The
an ibodies used in supe shi s a e indica ed abo e lanes 9 o 14. ( b ) Inhibi ion o hTERC p omo e ac i i y by a dominan - nega i e mu an o NF - YA e med NF -
YAm29. 5637 cells we e ans ec ed wi h ixed amoun o he hTERC - luci e ase plasmid hP om176 and inc easing concen a ions o he NF - YAm29 dominan -
nega i e ec o ( black columns ) o wild - ype NF - YA ec o ( ligh g ey columns ) . Fo each ans ec ion he mean and s anda d de ia ion o duplica e samples is
shown. ( c ) Func ional analysis o he CCAAT box. P omo e ac i i ies o a mu an CCAAT box cons uc ( hP om176h10m1 ) and sho e p omo e cons uc wi h
dele ion o he CCAAT box ( hP om120 ) we e assayed by ans ec ion in o he bladde ca cinoma cell line 5637 and compa ed o he wild - ype p omo e ac i i y
( hP om176 ) . P omo e ac i i ies o he cons uc s a e shown as pe cen age luci e ase ac i i y o he wild - ype p omo e alone. The pSEAP2 - Con ol ec o was
used as an in e nal con ol o ans ec ion e iciency.
534 hTERC P omo e Regula ion Zhao e al.
Neoplasia .Vol. 2, No. 6, 2000
5, and 10). To con i m he iden i y o he p o eins binding he
Sp1 si es, nuclea ex ac s we e p eincuba ed wi h an i-
bodies o he ansc ip ional egula o s Sp1 and Sp3 and wi h
con ol an ibodies speci ic o E s2 and Ap2. Speci ic
dis up ion o complex o ma ion was only seen when
p eincuba ion occu ed wi h an ibodies agains Sp1 and
Sp3 (Figu e 3a,lanes 2, 3, 6, 7, 11, 12, and 13). This
sugges s ha he Sp amily o ansc ip ion ac o s is in ol ed
in he egula ion o hTERC gene exp ession. To es his
hypo hesis, exp ession ec o s o Sp1 and Sp3 we e
co ans ec ed in o 5637 cells wi h he hTERC-luci e ase
cons uc . Figu e 3bdemons a es dose-dependen ac i a-
ion o he p omo e by Sp1 and dose-dependen ep ession
by Sp3.
The Re inoblas oma Gene P oduc Ac i a es he hTERC
P omo e
The pRb is conside ed o ha e impo an oles in no mal
ansc ip ional egula ion and in he p og ession o a no mal
mo al cell o an immo al cance cell [2,15]. The abili y o
pRb o modula e he hTERC p omo e was he e o e
assessed. The pRb/p53 null bladde cell line, 5637, was
co ans ec ed wi h a ixed amoun o he hTERC-luci e ase
plasmid and inc easing amoun s o a pRb exp ession ec o .
Figu e 4ashows ha exp ession o he pRb is a dose-
dependen ac i a o o he hTERC p omo e . To in es iga e
he ansc ip ional ac i a ion o hTERC by pRb in mo e
de ail, a se ies o pRb a ian s de eloped by Selle s e al.
[16] was used. Va ian s 663 and 661W a e unable o bind
E2F and he e o e do no cause cell-cycle a es , ye hey
e ain he abili y o ac i a e gene ansc ip ion. Va ian 657
is a null mu an o pRb, i is unable o bind E2F and canno
ac i a e gene ansc ip ion [16]. As can be seen om
Figu e 4b, ansc ip ional ac i a ion o he hTERC p omo e
by pRb is no dependen on E2F binding as i is obse ed
wi h a ian s ha e ain ansc ip ional ac i a ion capabili ies
bu which a e unable o bind E2F (663 and 661W). The
null mu an o pRb (657), which is unable o bind E2F o
o ac i a e gene ansc ip ion in he assays used by Selle s
e al., is simila ly unable o ac i a e he hTERC p omo e .
The speci ici y o pRb o ac i a e he hTERC p omo e was
es ed by compa ing he human and mouse elome ase
RNA gene p omo e s, which, a he sequence le el, show no
signi ican homology [8]. As can be seen om Figu e 4a,
he mouse p omo e does no espond o he pRb hus
demons a ing a unc ional di e ence in he egula ion o he
Figu e 3. ( a ) Iden i ica ion o nuclea p o eins binding o he Sp1 si es. HeLa nuclea ex ac was mixed wi h adiolabeled oligonucleo ide p obe and analyzedby
EMSA. The p o eins bound o he p obe we e iden i ied by p eincuba ion o nuclea ex ac s wi h an ibodies speci ic o Sp1, Sp3, o con ol an ibodies speci ic o
E s2 and Ap2. Complexes speci ic o Sp1 and Sp3 a e indica ed o he le o he panel. The an ibodies used a e indica ed a he op o he igu e. ( b ) The Sp1
ansc ip ion ac o up egula es and Sp3 ansc ip ion ac o down egula es he hTERC p omo e . The wild - ype hTERC - luci e ase plasmid was co ans ec ed wi h
inc easing amoun s o ei he an Sp1 o Sp3 exp ession ec o ( 0.25 g o 2.0 g ) in o he 5637 cell line. The mean luci e ase ac i i y no malized o p o ein and
ans ec ion e iciency is shown wi h he s anda d de ia ion o duplica e samples.
Neoplasia .Vol. 2, No. 6, 2000
hTERC P omo e Regula ion Zhao e al. 535

mouse and human elome ase RNA genes. In addi ion, he
speci ici y o hTERC ac i a ion by pRb was con i med by
co ans ec ion o he hTERC p omo e cons uc con aining
he mu a ion in he CCAAT box (hP om120) wi h pRb. As
shown in Figu e 2C, mu a ion o he CCAAT box abolishes
p omo e ac i i y. The exp ession o pRb is unable o
ac i a e hTERC p omo e ac i i y in he p esence o he
mu a ed CCAAT box, hus con i ming he unc ional speci-
ici y o he pRb ac i a ion on he wild- ype p omo e (da a
no shown).
Func ional Di e gence in he T ansc ip ional Regula ion o
TERC Genes be ween Species
Despi e conse a ion in elome ase enzyme unc ion
ac oss species, he e may be undamen al di e ences in
elome ase egula ion be ween mouse and human [8,17].
To gain a clea e insigh in o he egula ion o elome ase
RNA genes, he esponse o he human, mouse, and bo ine
elome ase RNA gene p omo e s o he ansc ip ional
egula o s pRb, NF-Y, Sp1, and Sp3 we e compa ed in
ansien ans ec ion expe imen s. The bo ine elome ase
RNA gene p omo e was included in his s udy as i is mo e
closely ela ed o he human gene in e ms o sequence and
may he e o e be o alue in dissec ing p omo e unc ion
[11]. The human wild- ype p omo e cons uc shown in
Figu e 4is he ull-leng h 867-bp plasmid, hP om867 [8] o
allow compa ison o he ull-leng h p omo e o each
species. The mouse elome ase (mTe c) p omo e luci e -
ase cons uc used was mP om628 [8], and a luci e ase
epo e cons uc con aining bo ine elome ase RNA gene
p omo e sequences (bTERC) was cons uc ed as de ailed
in he Ma e ials and Me hods sec ion.
Signi ican unc ional di e gence was obse ed be ween
species; he human and bo ine p omo e s a e ac i a ed by
pRb whe eas he mouse p omo e is no (Figu e 4c). Sp1
ac i a es all h ee p omo e s and Sp3 ep esses all h ee
p omo e s. In e es ingly, NF-Y egula ion appea s o be
speci ic o he human p omo e .
Figu e 4. ( a ) Ac i a ion o hTERC p omo e ac i i y by pRb. The pRb / p53 nega i e cell line 5637 was ans ec ed wi h a ixed amoun o he hTERC - luci e ase
plasmid and inc easing concen a ions o pRb exp ession ec o . In addi ion, he mouse elome ase ( mTe c ) p omo e - luci e ase cons uc mP om628 was also
analyzed o i s esponse o pRb [ 8 ]. The da a is exp essed as old induc ion o luci e ase ac i i y ela i e o he p omo e alone. The pSEAP2 - Con ol ec o was
used as an in e nal con ol o ans ec ion e iciency. ( b ) Di e en ial ac i a ion o hTERC p omo e ac i i y by wild - ype pRb and h ee a ian s, 663, 661W, and
657. The pRb/ p53 nega i e cell line 5637 was ans ec ed wi h 3 g o he hTERC - luci e ase plasmid ( phP om176 ) and 0.5 g o each pRb exp ession ec o .
The da a is exp essed as old induc ion o luci e ase ac i i y ela i e o he exp ession ec o alone ( emp y ec o ) . The pSEAP2 -Con ol ec o was used as an
in e nal con ol o ans ec ion e iciency. ( c ) Func ional di e gence in he ansc ip ional egula ion o TERC genes be ween species. P omo e - luci e ase
cons uc s o he human (hP om867 ) , mouse ( mP om628 ) and bo ine TERC genes we e compa ed o hei egula ion by Sp1, Sp3, NF - YAm29, and pRb. The
ac i i y o he p omo e s in esponse o co ans ec ion wi h he ansc ip ional egula o s is shown as old induc ion ela i e o he p omo e s alone. The pRb / p53
nega i e cell line 5637 was used in all expe imen s and he mean luci e ase ac i i y no malized o p o ein and ans ec ion e iciency is shown wi h he s anda d
de ia ion o duplica e samples.
536 hTERC P omo e Regula ion Zhao e al.
Neoplasia .Vol. 2, No. 6, 2000
Discussion
Reac i a ion o elome ase is an almos uni e sal e en in
ca cinogenesis. Though o he p o eins a e in ol ed in
op imal unc ion o he enzyme, he RNA subuni and he
ca aly ic p o ein componen s a e su icien o econs i u e
enzyme ac i i y. Consis en wi h his, bo h componen s a e
exp essed a high le els in he majo i y o cance s. In his
s udy, se e al ac o s capable o modula ing hTERC
p omo e ac i i y in cell cul u e ha e been iden i ied hus
p o iding an insigh in o he possible molecula mechanisms
o hTERC gene egula ion in no mal cells and i s de egula-
ion in cance cells. The mechanisms egula ing no mal
exp ession and ep ession may, howe e , di e om hose
in ol ed in loss o ep ession and ac i a ion o exp ession in
oncogenesis.
The p esen s udy shows ha he CCAAT box is essen ial
o basal p omo e unc ion. We ha e demons a ed ha his
can be ecognized by he NF-Y complex and inhibi ion o
NF-Y ac i i y ab oga es p omo e ac i i y. NF-Y is a
he e ome ic p o ein composed o h ee subuni s, NF-YA,
NF-YB and NF-YC [18]. NF-Y ac i i y is ound o change
du ing senescence, and in esponse o inducing agen s
[18,19]. I binds and con ols a numbe o cell-cycle
egula ed p omo e s and may be di ec ly in ol ed in
oncogenesis [18,20,21]. NF-Y may exe i s e ec h ough
al e a ions in p omo e a chi ec u e. Ch oma in s uc u e can
es ic he access o ansc ip ion-associa ed p o eins o
p omo e s and his one ace yla ion is a majo mechanism o
an agonism o ch oma in-media ed ep ession. NF-Y is able
o associa e wi h nucleosomes, and o inhibi nucleosome
o ma ion in in i o models [22]. I can also in e ac wi h he
his one ace yl ans e ases, p300, GCN5, and P/CAF,
[12,23,24] and may p o ide a means o a ge ing hese o
speci ic p omo e s. NF-Y has also been shown o inc ease
he a ini y o s uc u ally un ela ed ac i a o s, including Sp1,
o hei binding si es [25±27]. I would be o in e es o
examine whe he he egula ion o elome ase genes in
de elopmen and in mo al and immo al cells is ela ed o
ch oma in s uc u e and i so, whe he his is media ed by
NF-Y.
Sp1 and Sp3 ep esen jus wo membe s o a g owing
amily o mammalian K uppel-like ansc ip ion ac o s ha
bind GC- ich sequence elemen s, and a e in ol ed in he
egula ion o issue speci ic and housekeeping genes. Sp
p o eins ha e been implica ed in cell-cycle egula ion,
ch oma in modeling, and main enance o me hyla ion- ee
islands [14]. In addi ion, Sp1 knockou s show ha Sp1 is
equi ed o ea ly mouse de elopmen [14]. T ansc ip ional
egula ion by he Sp amily o p o eins is complex, bu in
gene al Sp1 ac i a es gene exp ession, whe eas Sp3
ep esses i [14,28]. We ha e iden i ied Sp p o ein-binding
si es wi hin he hTERC p omo e . We ha e demons a ed
ha Sp1 and Sp3 can bind o hese si es and ha Sp1
ac i a es and Sp3 ep esses gene exp ession. Thus
luc ua ions in Sp1/Sp3 a ios o al e a ion in hei ela i e
binding a ini ies could modula e exp ession in i o. This is o
pa icula signi icance because Sp1 has ecen ly been
demons a ed o ac i a e he human elome ase p o ein
componen p omo e (hTERT) [29] and we ha e he e o e
iden i ied an o e lapping, hough no necessa ily co-coo di-
na ed, con ol mechanism.
Ou inding ha pRb is an ac i a o o he hTERC
p omo e was somewha su p ising gi en i s well-known
unc ion as a umo supp esse . P o ein Rb nega i ely
egula es ansc ip ion o a numbe o genes ha play a
ole in cell-cycle p og ession by o ming complexes wi h
membe s o he E2F ansc ip ion amily. Howe e , pRb
also has a i al ole in no mal de elopmen , a ime when
hTERC is highly exp essed, and he abili y o pRb o
coac i a e a numbe o genes including TGF-be a
2
, he
e inoblas oma gene i sel , cyclin D1, and he We ne
helicase gene is well desc ibed [15,16,30±34]. How pRb
ac i a es ansc ip ion is no ully unde s ood bu in keeping
wi h he esul s o Selle s e al., he abili y o pRb o
ac i a e he hTERC p omo e is independen o i s abili y o
bind E2F. P o ein Rb has no been shown o bind di ec ly
o he p omo e s ha i ac i a es [35] hough ce ain
sequence elemen s ha e been iden i ied as being in ol ed
in pRb modula ion in o he p omo e s [30,36]. pRb may
ac by seques e ing an inhibi o o o he ansc ip ion
ac o s [37]. The iden i ica ion o hTERC as ano he gene
ha is ac i a ed by pRb may con ibu e o he in es iga ion
o his aspec o pRb unc ion.
The unc ional signi icance o he abili y o pRb o ac i a e
he hTERC p omo e in oncogenesis is no clea gi en ha
dys unc ion o some pa o he pRb signal ansduc ion
pa hway is e y common in cance . Howe e , he comple e
loss o pRb i sel is ela i ely a e and e en ce ain ge m line
mu a ions in RB-1 can gi e ise o a p o ein de ec i e in
E2F-binding ye e aining he abili y o ac i a e ansc ip ion
[16]. Fu he mo e, we ha e demons a ed ha pRb is a
modula o o p omo e ac i i y bu i is no essen ial o
ansc ip ion. One migh p edic ha when pRb- ansac i a -
ing unc ion is los om he cance cell, compensa ion o he
educed hTERC p omo e ac i i y migh occu . Indeed, he
hTERC gene can be ampli ied in human cance s [38]. I
could be ha his is selec ed o o inc ease hTERC
exp ession in he absence o he posi i e egula o y
in luences (such as pRb) o o i a e ou nega i e egula o y
ac o s (such as Sp3).
Telome ase enzyme unc ion is conse ed ac oss
species bu he e a e signi ican di e ences in gene
exp ession be ween species wi h high le els o exp ession
in he mouse compa ed o he human [39,40]. We ha e
demons a ed a ma ked di e gence in he egula ion o he
human and he mouse TERC gene. This is pe haps no
ha su p ising because he wo p omo e s show no
signi ican sequence homology [8] and, in pa icula , a
sec ion o he human and bo ine p omo e s lying be ween
he ansc ip ion s a si e and he empla e egion is
absen in he mouse p omo e . Phylogenic analysis o he
TERC sequences o se e al species desc ibed by Chen e
al. [41] e eals ha his a ea is also absen in o he
oden s. Whe he his sec ion o he p omo e is espon-
sible o he species a ia ion emains o be in es iga ed.
The di e gence in he egula ion o elome ase RNA genes
Neoplasia .Vol. 2, No. 6, 2000
hTERC P omo e Regula ion Zhao e al. 537
be ween species needs o be aken in o accoun when
s udying elome ase in animal models o de elopmen and
disease s a es [17].
Conclusion
Ou esul s indica e ha mul iple signals including Sp1, Sp3,
pRb, and NF-Y a e able o con ibu e o he egula ion o
hTERC gene exp ession. Thus, al e a ions in he ela i e
con ibu ions o Sp1, Sp3, pRb, and NF-Y in a cell, o signal-
ansduc ion-speci ic manne , may be ele an o hTERC
gene exp ession. This in o ma ion p o ides a ocus o
s udies designed o unco e how cance cells eac i a e o
up egula e hTERC gene exp ession. In addi ion, an unde -
s anding o he molecula basis o hTERC gene egula ion
may be o alue in he manipula ion o elome ase exp es-
sion, o example in age- ela ed disease and o de eloping
a ional he apies o ea cance h ough he exploi a ion o
hTERC gene ansc ip ion [6,8].
Acknowledgemen s
We hank D . William Kaelin, J . and D . Robe Whi e o he
pRb exp ession ec o s, D . Robe o Man o ani o NF-Y
exp ession ec o s and an ibodies, D . Gun am Suske o
he Sp1 and Sp3 exp ession ec o s, and D . L. B yce o
c i ical eading o he manusc ip .
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