Immunocytology with microwave-fixed fibroblasts shows 1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3-dependent rapid and estrogen-dependent slow reorganization of vitamin D receptors.

Prior studies have given no evidence for regulation of vitamin D receptor (VDR) compartmentalization or subcellular organization. Microwave fixation (9-15 s) and an indirect immunodetection system of avidin-biotin enhancement and phycoerythrin fluorophore resulted in sufficient spatial and temporal resolution to allow analysis of these processes. We studied cultured fibroblasts from normals or from patients with four different types of hereditary defect compromising VDR function (mutant cells). Compartmentalization of VDRs in the absence of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (calcitriol) was regulated by serum or estrogen. VDRs were mainly cytoplasmic in cells cultured without serum and phenol red, but VDRs were mainly intranuclear after addition of serum or an estrogen to cells for at least 18 h (slow regulation). Calcitriol initiated a rapid and multistep process (rapid regulation) of reorganization in a portion of VDRs: clumping within 15-45 s, alignment of clumps along fibrils within 30-45 s, perinuclear accumulation of clumps within 45-90 s, and intranuclear accumulation of clumps within 1-3 min. We found similar rapid effects of calcitriol on VDRs in various other types of cultured cells. These sequential VDR pattern changes showed calcitriol dose dependency and calcitriol analogue specificity characteristic for the VDR. In mutant fibroblasts VDR pattern changes after calcitriol were absent or severely disturbed at selected steps. Treatment of normal cells with wheat germ agglutinin, which blocks protein transport through nuclear pores, also blocked calcitriol-dependent translocation of VDRs. We conclude that immunocytology after microwave fixation provides evidence for regulation of VDR organization and localization.

1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3-induced differentiation in a human promyelocytic leukemia cell line (HL-60): receptor-mediated maturation to macrophage-like cells.

The human-derived promyelocytic leukemia cell line, HL-60, is known to differentiate into mature myeloid cells in the presence of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25[OH]2D3). We investigated differentiation by monitoring 1,25(OH)2D3-exposed HL-60 cells for phagocytic activity, ability to reduce nitroblue tetrazolium, binding of the chemotaxin N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-[3H]phenylalanine, development of nonspecific acid esterase activity, and morphological maturation of Wright-Giemsa-stained cells. 1,25(OH)2D3 concentrations as low as 10(-10) M caused significant development of phagocytosis, nitroblue tetrazolium reduction, and the emergence of differentiated myeloid cells that had morphological characteristics of both metamyelocytes and monocytes. These cells were conclusively identified as monocytes/macrophages based upon their adherence to the plastic flasks and their content of the macrophage-characteristic nonspecific acid esterase enzyme. The estimated ED50 for 1,25(OH)2D3-induced differentiation based upon nitroblue tetrazolium reduction and N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-[3H]phenylalanine binding was 5.7 X 10(-9) M. HL-60 cells exhibited a complex growth response with various levels of 1,25(OH)2D3: less than or equal to 10(-10) M had no detectable effect, 10(-9) M stimulated growth, and greater than or equal to 10(-8) M sharply inhibited proliferation. We also detected and quantitated the specific receptor for 1,25(OH)2D3 in HL-60 and HL-60 Blast, a sub-clone resistant to the growth and differentiation effects of 1,25(OH)2D3. The receptor in both lines was characterized as a DNA-binding protein that migrated at 3.3S on high-salt sucrose gradients. Unequivocal identification was provided by selective dissociation of the 1,25(OH)2D3-receptor complex with the mercurial reagent, p-chloromercuribenzenesulfonic acid, and by a shift in its sedimentation position upon complexing with anti-receptor monoclonal antibody. On the basis of labeling of whole cells with 1,25(OH)2[3H]D3 in culture, we found that HL-60 contains approximately 4,000 1,25(OH)2D3 receptor molecules per cell, while the nonresponsive HL-60 Blast is endowed with approximately 8% of that number. The concentration of 1,25(OH)2D3 (5 X 10(-9) M) in complete culture medium, which facilitates the saturation of receptors in HL-60 cells, is virtually identical to the ED50 for the sterol's induction of differentiation. This correspondence, plus the resistance of the relatively receptor-poor HL-60 Blast, indicates that 1,25(OH)2D3-induced differentiation of HL-60 cells to monocytes/macrophages is occurring via receptor-mediated events.

Dynamic changes in circulating 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D during reproduction in rats.

The concentrations of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25-(OH)2D], calcium, and phosphorus were measured in the serum of rats during pregnancy and at various stages of lactation. The concentration of 1,25-(OH)2D hormone increased almost two-fold during pregnancy and the latter part of lactation, but decreased to control levels or very low values immediately after birth and weaning, respectively. Furthermore, the concentration of 1,25-(OH)2D was inversely correlated with the concentration of calcium, suggesting that circulating 1,25-(OH)2D fluctuates in concert with calcium demands during the reproductive cycle. Parathyroidectomy in lactating rats caused a 70 percent inhibition of the normally observed 1,25-(OH)2D increase, indicating that parathyroid hormone, in response to changes in serum calcium, is a primary modulator of 1,25-(OH)2D during lactation.

Molecular cloning of complementary DNA encoding the avian receptor for vitamin D.

Vitamin D3 receptors are intracellular proteins that mediate the nuclear action of the active metabolite 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3]. Two receptor-specific monoclonal antibodies were used to recover the complementary DNA (cDNA) of this regulatory protein from a chicken intestinal lambda gt11 cDNA expression library. The amino acid sequences that were deduced from this cDNA revealed a highly conserved cysteine-rich region that displayed homology with a domain characteristic of other steroid receptors and with the gag-erbA oncogene product of avian erythroblastosis virus. RNA selected via hybridization with this DNA sequence directed the cell-free synthesis of immunoprecipitable vitamin D3 receptor. Northern blot analysis of polyadenylated RNA with these cDNA probes revealed two vitamin D receptor messenger RNAs (mRNAs) of 2.6 and 3.2 kilobases in receptor-containing chicken tissues and a major cross-hybridizing receptor mRNA species of 4.2 kilobases in mouse 3T6 fibroblasts. The 4.2-kilobase species was substantially increased by prior exposure of 3T6 cells to 1,25(OH)2D3. This cDNA represents perhaps the rarest mRNA cloned to date in eukaryotes, as well as the first receptor sequence described for an authentic vitamin.

Vitamin D3--resistant fibroblasts have immunoassayable 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 receptors.

Cultured fibroblasts obtained from patients with tissue resistance to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (vitamin D3--dependent rickets, type II) contain normal, low, or undetectable concentrations of this hormone's receptor protein as measured by a ligand-binding assay. Extracts from these cells were evaluated for receptors by immunoassay with a recently developed monoclonal antibody to the chick receptor. The results show that a protein sedimenting at 3.7S and recognizable by the antibody exists in comparable concentrations in cells from both normal and resistant patients, irrespective of the hormone-binding abnormalities of the cells. This implies that deficiencies in hormone binding associated with inherited tissue resistance to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 probably arise from structural variations in the receptor molecule and not from defective receptor synthesis.

Point mutations in the human vitamin D receptor gene associated with hypocalcemic rickets.

Hypocalcemic vitamin D-resistant rickets is a human genetic disease resulting from target organ resistance to the action of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3. Two families with affected children homozygous for this autosomal recessive disorder were studied for abnormalities in the intracellular vitamin D receptor (VDR) and its gene. Although the receptor displays normal binding of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 hormone, VDR from affected family members has a decreased affinity for DNA. Genomic DNA isolated from these families was subjected to oligonucleotide-primed DNA amplification, and each of the nine exons encoding the receptor protein was sequenced for a genetic mutation. In each family, a different single nucleotide mutation was found in the DNA binding domain of the protein; one family near the tip of the first zinc finger (Gly----Asp) and one at the tip of the second zinc finger (Arg----Gly). The mutant residues were created in vitro by oligonucleotide directed point mutagenesis of wild-type VDR complementary DNA and this cDNA was transfected into COS-1 cells. The produced protein is biochemically indistinguishable from the receptor isolated from patients.

Regulation of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 receptor gene expression by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 in the parathyroid in vivo.

1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3 dramatically decreases parathyroid hormone (PTH) gene transcription. We have now studied the effect of 1,25(OH)2D3 on the 1,25(OH)2D receptor (VDR) in the parathyroid in vivo. Rats were injected with 1,25(OH)2D3 and the parathyroid-thyroid tissue analyzed for PTHmRNA and VDRmRNA. 1,25(OH)2D3 (50 and 100 pmol ip) decreased PTHmRNA at 6 h with a maximum at 48 h (less than 4% of basal), whereas VDRmRNA was increased only after 6 h with a 1.7-fold increase at 24 h. VDRmRNA levels peaked at 25 pmol 1,25(OH)2D3 with a twofold increase. Serum calcium did not affect VDRmRNA. Parathyroid VDRmRNA ran at 2.2 and 4.4 kb, whereas duodenum VDRmRNA had a single band, all of which increased after 1,25(OH)2D3. Weanling rats on a vitamin D-deficient diet for 3 wk had a more intense 2.2-kb transcript, whereas vitamin D-replete rats had a more intense 4.4-kb band. Dispersed parathyroid-thyroid cells were separated by a flow cytometry (FACS) into a parathyroid cell peak containing PTHmRNA and a second peak with cells positive for thyro-globulin mRNA and calcitonin mRNA. VDRmRNA was concentrated in the parathyroid cell peak. In situ hybridization of parathyroid-thyroid and duodenum for VDRmRNA showed its localization to the parathyroid cells and the duodenal mucosa. Therefore, the VDRmRNA in the parathyroid-thyroid tissue represents predominantly parathyroid cell and not C-cell VDRmRNA which is also a 1,25(OH)2D3 target organ. The increased VDR gene expression in the parathyroid cell would amplify the effect of 1,25(OH)2D3 to decrease PTH gene transcription.

The molecular basis of hereditary 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 resistant rickets in seven related families.

Hereditary 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3] resistant rickets (HVDRR) is an autosomal recessive disease caused by target organ resistance to the action of 1,25(OH)2D3, the active form of the hormone. The defect in target cells is heterogenous and commonly appears to be a mutation in the gene encoding the vitamin D receptor (VDR). We have studied cultured skin fibroblasts and Epstein-Barr virus transformed lymphoblasts of seven family branches of an extended kindred having eight children affected with HVDRR. We have previously shown that cells from three affected children in this group contain an "ochre" nonsense mutation coding for a premature stop codon in exon 7 within the steroid-binding domain of the VDR gene. In the current studies, we found that cells from affected children failed to bind [3H]1,25(OH)2D3 and had undetectable levels of VDR as determined by immunoblots using an anti-VDR monoclonal antibody. Measurement of VDR mRNA by hybridization to a human VDR cDNA probe showed undetectable or decreased abundance of steady-state VDR mRNA. Parents, expected to be obligate heterozygotes, showed approximately half the normal levels of [3H]1,25(OH)2D3 binding, VDR protein, and mRNA. The mutation at nucleotide 970 (counting from the mRNA CAP site) results in the conversion of GTAC to GTAA, which eliminates an Rsa I restriction enzyme site and facilitates identification of the mutation. We found that polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of exons 7 and 8 from family members and subsequent Rsa I digestion allows detection of the specific genotype of the individuals. When Rsa I digests of PCR-amplified DNA are subjected to polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, children with HVDRR exhibit a homozygous banding pattern with loss of an Rsa I site. Parents exhibit a heterozygotic DNA pattern with detection of both normal and mutant alleles. In summary, our data show that the genetic abnormality is a point mutation within the steroid-binding domain of the VDR in all seven related families with HVDRR. Analysis of restriction fragment length polymorphism at the 970 locus of PCR-amplified DNA fragments can be used to diagnose this mutation in both affected children and parents carrying the disease.

Reconstitution of the vitamin D-responsive osteocalcin transcription unit in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The human osteocalcin gene is regulated in mammalian osteoblasts by 1,25(OH)2D3-dependent and -independent mechanisms. The sequences responsible for this activity have been mapped to within the -1339 region of the gene. We show here that this enhancer region functions analogously in Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells engineered to produce active 1,25(OH)2D3 receptor. When fused to the proximal promoter elements of the yeast iso-1-cytochrome c gene, the enhancer demonstrated substantial promoter activity. This activity was elevated further by 1,25(OH)2D3 when the reporter constructs were assayed in cells containing the 1,25(OH)2D3 receptor. This system affords a model for 1,25(OH)2D3 action and represents a simple assay system that will enable definition of the important cis-acting regulatory sequences within the osteocalcin gene and identification of their cognate transcription factors.

Phenotypic and functional analysis of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 receptor mediated modulation of the human myeloma cell line RPMI 8226.

Several recent studies have demonstrated the presence of specific receptors for the 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (calcitriol) in activated normal lymphocytes. By DNA cellulose chromatography, we show evidence of such specific receptors in the human myeloma cell line RPMI 8226. Nanomolar concentrations of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 reduce the proliferation of RPMI 8226 cells significantly and simultaneously induce the appearance of both new properties and phenotype expression, such as butyrate esterase, enhanced expression of CD20 (B1), CD15 (Leu-M1) antigens and lambda chains, and decreased expression of the PC1 antigen using microfluorometric analysis. But such an increased expression of membrane lambda chains was not associated with an enhanced secretion of lambda chains. Furthermore, the bone resorbing activity produced normally by RPMI 8226 cells was reduced significantly after 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 treatment. The possible mechanisms and significance of these new functional and phenotypic properties are discussed with respect to the B-cell lineage.

Immunocytochemical detection of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 receptor in breast cancer.

We have developed an immunocytochemical technique to visualize the receptor for 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3] in cryostat sections of human breast tumors and normal human breast tissue utilizing a monoclonal antibody (9A7 gamma) to chick intestinal receptor which recognizes mammalian 1,25(OH)2D3 receptor. Specific staining was observed in the nuclei of tumor cells. Previous studies by our group have shown that a high proportion of breast tumors bind radiolabeled 1,25(OH)2D3 and we have confirmed this, demonstrating immunocytochemical 1,25(OH)2D3 receptor in 43 of 55 (78%) of breast carcinomas. No correlation with the presence of immunostainable estrogen receptor was found in these breast cancer specimens. Sections of normal breast showed immunoreactivity in the nuclei of epithelial cells of the lobules and ducts. Our results demonstrate that the receptor for 1,25(OH)2D3 resides predominantly in the nucleus of breast carcinoma cells. The reason for its prominent expression in breast cancers is not yet known but may be related to growth regulation.

Immunocytochemical determination of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 receptor in breast cancer and relationship to prognosis.

We have determined the estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor (PR), and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 receptor content of 136 breast carcinomas by an immunocytochemical method. The presence of the three receptors was not related to clinical features of presentation such as T-stage or to age or menopausal status. However, each of the three receptors has a different relationship to the course of the disease in these patients. The presence of PR was significantly associated with an improved overall survival (chi 2 = 4.61, P = 0.032). Patients whose tumors contained immunocytochemically detectable 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 receptor had a longer disease-free interval than those patients with negative tumors (chi 2 = 4.01, P = 0.045). The presence of estrogen receptor and PR were found to correlate with an increased survival between relapse and death (P = 0.027 and P = 0.09, respectively). The relationships between estrogen receptor and PR and prognosis are more apparent when the degree of cell staining is considered. Combined receptor analysis improves our ability to predict the course of the disease and may therefore facilitate better management of the patients.

Unique Distal Enhancers Linked to the Mouse Tnfsf11 Gene Direct Tissue-Specific and Inflammation-Induced Expression of RANKL.

Receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand (RANKL) is expressed by a number of cell types to participate in diverse physiological functions. We have previously identified 10 distal RANKL enhancers. Earlier studies have shown that RL-D5 is a multifunctional RANKL enhancer. Deletion of RL-D5 from the mouse genome leads to lower skeletal and lymphoid tissue RANKL, causing a high bone mass phenotype. Herein, we determine the physiological role and lineage specificity of 2 additional RANKL enhancers, RL-D6 and RL-T1, which are located 83 and 123 kb upstream of the gene's transcriptional start site, respectively. Lack of RL-D6 or RL-T1 did not alter skeletal RANKL or bone mineral density up to 48 weeks of age. Although both RL-D5 and RL-T1 contributed to activation induction of T-cell RANKL, RL-T1 knockout mice had drastically low lymphocyte and lymphoid tissue RANKL levels, indicating that RL-T1 is the major regulator of lymphocyte RANKL. Moreover, RL-T1 knockout mice had lower circulating soluble RANKL, suggesting that lymphocytes are important sources of circulating soluble RANKL. Under physiological conditions, lack of RL-D6 did not alter RANKL expression. However, lack of RL-D5 or RL-D6, but not of RL-T1, blunted the oncostatin M and lipopolysaccharide induction of RANKL ex vivo and in vivo, suggesting that RL-D5 and RL-D6 coregulate the inflammation-mediated induction of RANKL in osteocytes and osteoblasts while lack of RL-D6 did not alter secondary hyperparathyroidism or lactation induction of RANKL or bone loss. These results suggest that although RL-D5 mediates RANKL expression in multiple lineages, other cell type- or factor-specific enhancers are required for its appropriate control, demonstrating the cell type-specific and complex regulation of RANKL expression.

Human vitamin D receptor-dependent transactivation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae requires retinoid X receptor.

Transcriptional and DNA binding activities of the human vitamin D receptor (hVDR) were examined in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In the studies described here, VDR itself exhibited little transcriptional activity regardless of the nature of the vitamin D-responsive elements (VDREs) used. Consistent with its lack of functional activity, recombinant VDR was unable to bind to VDREs in vitro using bandshift analysis. Interestingly, VDR was able to bind to VDREs with high affinity and to fully activate transcription in intact yeast cells in the presence of the retinoid X receptor (RXR). Although RXR subtypes displayed a similar capacity to induce heterodimer formation with VDR on VDREs, RXR gamma was the strongest of the subtypes in potentiating VDR-dependent transactivation. We also evaluated both DNA binding and transcriptional activities of VDR alone and VDR plus RXR on directly repeated response elements whose half-sites were separated by three and six base pairs. DNA-binding assays together with functional assays revealed that VDR was active only in the presence of RXR, regardless of spacing. Using a domain-swap approach, we constructed a chimeric receptor in which the DNA-binding domain of VDR was replaced with that of the glucocorticoid receptor. Interaction of both wild type and chimeric receptors with a hybrid-responsive element in the presence of RXR revealed that RXR and VDR bound to the 5'- and 3'-half-sites of VDRE, respectively. Finally, we show that the fifth position in the 3'-half-site (C) of the VDRE strongly influences the binding of VDR/RXR heterodimer to its cognate cis-elements. Cumulatively, our studies demonstrate, using an eukaryotic yeast system, that the functional VDR unit includes RXR or an equal partner.

A 55-kilodalton accessory factor facilitates vitamin D receptor DNA binding.

The interaction of the vitamin D receptor with a vitamin D-responsive element (VDRE) derived from the human osteocalcin promoter in vitro has been shown to require a nuclear accessory factor (NAF) derived from monkey kidney cells. In this report we show that this factor is widely distributed in cells and tissues, including those that do not express the vitamin D receptor (VDR). NAF is required for VDR binding to a variety of known VDREs. VDR and NAF independently bind the VDRE weakly, as assessed by elution profiles generated during VDRE affinity chromatography. Together, however, both proteins coelute from this column with a profile that indicates a tighter strength of interaction. Analogous chromatography of the VDR derived from ROS 17/2.8 cells treated with 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 in culture also reveals a dual profile of weak and strong binding, suggesting that in vivo modifications are unlikely to alter receptor DNA binding. NAF is a protein of 55 kDa, as assessed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and cross-linking experiments suggest that the VDR and NAF together form a heterodimer on a single VDRE with a mol wt of 103 kDa. These data demonstrate that NAF is required for VDR binding to specific DNA in vitro and suggest the possibility that NAF may be required for the transactivation capability of the VDR in vivo.

A unique point mutation in the human vitamin D receptor chromosomal gene confers hereditary resistance to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3.

The syndrome of hereditary resistance to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 is due to defective function of the vitamin D receptor (VDR). The recent cloning and nucleotide sequence determination of the human VDR chromosomal gene have enabled a direct evaluation of the genetic basis for this disease in affected patients. In this report we employed polymerase chain reaction techniques to amplify the gene exons that encode the DNA-binding domain of the VDR from two 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3-resistant patients whose receptors displayed defective binding to nonspecific DNA. Although their families were apparently unrelated, each patient displayed an identical homozygous point mutation within the third exon, a mutation that causes substitution of a glutamine for an arginine residue highly conserved within the entire steroid receptor superfamily. We introduced this base change into the normal VDR cDNA via site-directed mutagenesis, transfected an expression vector containing this cDNA into cells, and examined the functional properties of the resultant VDR expression product. The produced mutant receptor bound 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 with normal affinity, but displayed weak affinity for the nuclear fraction and for heterologous DNA. More importantly, the protein was inactive in promoting transcription in a cotransfection assay employing a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene reporter fused down-stream of the VDR-inducible osteocalcin gene promoter-enhancer. These results provide the genetic and functional basis for the phenotype of rickets in this inherited disease.

Functional domains of the human vitamin D3 receptor regulate osteocalcin gene expression.

The human vitamin D receptor (VDR) has been cloned recently. Two cDNAs comprising the full-length VDR were spliced, cloned into a mammalian expression vector, and transiently expressed in COS-1 cells. The protein product exhibited properties consistent with that observed for receptor in human cells. A series of 5'- and 3'-deletions of the full-length VDR cDNA was prepared and evaluated. Native DNA binding was localized to a peptide fragment (residues 1-114) whose most prominent feature is the cysteine rich region proven to represent the DNA binding domain in other steroid receptors. Steroid binding-competence required synthesis of a peptide that initiated C-terminal to the DNA-binding domain at residue 114 and which contained the remaining 313 residues. To determine the location of elements within the receptor necessary for transcription, an osteocalcin gene promoter-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter gene was cotransfected together with wild type or mutant VDR cDNAs and the latter's effect on chloramphenicol acetyltransferase activity was assessed. Cotransfection of wild type receptor alone resulted in efficient transcription of the reporter plasmid. However, synthesis of a peptide containing the DNA binding domain as well as 76 residues carboxy terminal to this region exhibited some degree of activity, albeit constitutive. These results suggest that the functional domains of the VDR are similar to that of other steroid receptors and that these domains participate in the transcriptional regulation of the human osteocalcin gene.

Overexpression of the human vitamin D3 receptor in mammalian cells using recombinant adenovirus vectors.

The human vitamin D3 receptor (hVDR) cDNA was cloned into the E1 region of the adenovirus genome to generate recombinant viruses which were used to infect 293 (adenovirus-transformed human fetal kidney) cells. High salt extracts from cells infected with the recombinant viruses were subjected to immunoblot analysis using a monoclonal antibody to chicken VDR and were shown to contain large quantities of a protein of approximately 50 kDa with a migration identical to that of the hVDR in T47D (human mammary adenocarcinoma) cells. Scatchard analysis showed that the infected cells express approximately 100-fold more receptor than T47D cells and that this receptor binds 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 with high affinity. The overexpressed hVDR also binds to DNA-cellulose and is eluted with a KCl concentration similar to that determined for fully active endogenous VDR. Nuclear extracts from cells infected with the hVDR-expressing adenoviruses contain an activity that specifically binds an oligonucleotide with sequences from the rat osteocalcin vitamin D3 response element, as determined by gel mobility shift. This interaction can be inhibited by the presence of an anti-VDR antibody, but not by nonspecific immunoglobulins. We conclude, therefore, that the overexpressed receptor has the ligand- and DNA-binding characteristics defined for endogenous VDR and that adenoviruses can be used to efficiently express large quantities of functional hVDR in a human cell line. Finally, a second binding activity, specific for the vitamin D response element, but distinct from the VDR, has been identified in extracts from uninfected cells.

Sensitive and specific detection of retinoid receptor subtype proteins in cultured cell and tumor extracts.

Subtype-specific antipeptide antibodies have been developed against each of the retinoic acid receptors (RARs alpha, beta, and gamma) and each of the retinoid X receptors (RXRs alpha, beta, and gamma). Each antibody reacts specifically with its respective recombinantly expressed protein but not with any of the other retinoid receptor subtypes, by both immunoblot and immunoprecipitation technology. We describe a sensitive and specific assay that combines the binding of cultured cell and tumor extracts to [3H]all-trans-retinoic acid or [3H]9-cis-retinoic acid with immunoprecipitation of the hormone-receptor complexes by the subtype-specific antibodies to determine the levels of functional retinoid receptor subtype proteins that are present. We also report the use of a hormone-binding assay that uses RAR- and RXR-selective compounds as competitors of the tritiated retinoids to ascertain the RAR and RXR subfamily profiles of these cells. HeLa cells contain all six retinoid receptor proteins ranging in concentration from 9 fmol/mg total protein for RAR beta and RXR gamma to 50 fmol/mg for RXR alpha. Hep G2 and HL60 cells express RAR alpha and RXR alpha proteins at approximately 20-60 fmol receptor/mg protein, and RAR beta is expressed at lower levels (approximately 5 fmol/mg) in Hep G2 cells. MCF-7 cells in culture express RAR alpha (approximately 32 fmol/mg), RAR gamma (approximately 35 fmol/mg), and RXR alpha (approximately 60 fmol/mg).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Transcriptional activation and dimerization functions in the human vitamin D receptor.

The C-terminal domain of the human vitamin D receptor (hVDR) is essential for dimerization with retinoid X receptors and for transcriptional activation. To define the dimerization domain of the hVDR, a series of internal deletion mutants of the receptor were prepared beginning within the E domain and extending through the F domain to the C terminus. These mutant receptors were tested for dimerization and transcriptional activities by means of gel shift assay and beta-galactosidase assay, respectively, in a yeast system. The dimerization domain of the hVDR was localized to two separate but adjacent regions of the receptor molecule. In these experiments, the activation domain colocalized with dimerization. To more precisely delineate a relationship between these domains, region-specific random mutagenesis was carried out to detect mutants using error-prone PCR and a functional screen strategy employed using transformed yeast. Two classes of inactive receptors were identified: one in which both transcriptional activation and dimerization were compromised and a second in which only transcriptional activation was abolished. Most of the mutations responsible for these phenotypes were single. The studies suggest a separation between dimerization and transactivation domains. We reconstituted each of these hVDR mutants in a mammalian expression vector and evaluated them individually in COS-1 cells. All VDR mutants were transcriptionally active in this cellular background in response to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 although the potency of the hormone was reduced. The latter observation coincided with the observation that each mutant was compromised to some extent in binding affinity. These data clearly demonstrate the existence of an activation domain in hVDR that is separable from the domain involved in dimerization. Factors that couple hVDR to the general transcription apparatus in yeast through the activation domain in the hVDR, however, appear to be unrelated or dissimilar to those used in COS-1 cells.