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INTRACELLULAR SIGNAL SYSTEMS |
Department of Biochemistry (D.H., D.B., D.C., Z.N.), The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv 69978, Israel; and Department of Biological Regulation (S.K., R.S.), The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Dr. Zvi Naor, Department of Biochemistry, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel. E-mail: . Naorzvi{at}post.tau.ac.il
| Abstract |
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| Introduction |
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-subunit, which binds noncovalently to a specific ß-subunit (1, 2, 3). We and others have demonstrated that GnRH elicits a rapid and sequential activation of the phospholipases C, D, and A2, followed by Ca2+ mobilization and influx, activation of PKC, and stimulation of the MAPK cascades ERK, Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), and p38MAPK (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17). Although much is known about mechanisms involved in gonadotropin release, relatively little is known about signaling of the GnRH receptor (GnRHR) during activation of gonadotropin subunit gene expression (see Refs. 2 and 3 for reviews). The MAPK cascades consist of up to six tiers of protein kinases, which sequentially activate each other by phosphorylation (see Refs. 8 and 18 for reviews). Four distinct MAPK cascades have been identified in mammals: the ERK cascade, also known as p42, and p44 MAPKs, JNK, p38MAPK, and the big MAPK (BMK, ERK5) (see Refs. 8 and 18 for reviews). A small GTP-binding protein of the Ras family often initiates the activation of a MAPK cascade, followed by activation of MAP3K (MEK kinase; MEKK), MEK, and MAPK. In the ERK cascade, Raf kinase (MAP3K, MEKK) activates MEK and ERK 1, 2. In the JNK cascade, several MEKKs, including MEKK14, activate MKK4, 7, and JNK13. The translocation to the nucleus and activation of various transcription factors, which are a hallmark of MAPK signaling, make this group of kinases important regulators of the transcriptional machinery.
The role of MAPKs in the regulation of gonadotropin gene expression is not clear. It was reported that ERK is involved in basal as well as GnRH-stimulated transcription of the
-subunit (10, 19). On the other hand, others have reported that ERK is mainly involved in the regulation of the basal, but not in the GnRH-stimulated,
-subunit promoter activity (11). Controversy also exists concerning the role of ERK in GnRH regulation of LHß gene expression, with some investigators reporting a positive role for ERK (20), whereas others have found no role for ERK in the transcriptional regulation of LHß by GnRH (19, 21).
Activation of JNK by GnRH (13, 17, 21) could be important in common
-subunit gene expression, because Jun and ATF2, which are known substrates of JNK, have been shown to contribute to
-subunit gene transcription via binding to the CRE domain of the promoter (22). Nevertheless, we have recently found that ERK, but not JNK, is partially involved in basal and in GnRH-induced
-subunit gene regulation (Harris, D., O. Benard, D. Chuderland, R. Seger, and Z. Naor, manuscript submitted). Others have recently reported that JNK, but not ERK, is involved in GnRH-induced LHß gene expression (21). We report here that ERK and JNK are involved in regulation of basal and GnRH stimulation of LHß transcription.
| Materials and Methods |
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Activation of MAPK cascades
LßT-2 cells were grown in 6-well plates and serum starved (0.5% FCS) for 16 h. After stimulation with the various ligands, the cells were washed twice with ice-cold PBS and once with ice-cold buffer A (50 mM ß-glycerophosphate, 1.5 mM EGTA, 1 mM EDTA, 1 mM dithiothreitol, 1 mM sodium orthovanadate). Cells were harvested in 0.3 ml buffer H: buffer A containing 1 mM benzamidine, 10 µg/ml aprotinin, 10 µg/ml leupeptin, 1 mM phenylmethylsulfonylfluoride, followed by sonication (2 x 7 sec, 40 W) and centrifugation (15,000 x g, 15 min, 4 C). The supernatants, which contained cytosolic proteins, were collected, and aliquots from each sample (20 µg) were separated on 10% SDS-PAGE, followed by Western blotting with mouse monoclonal antiactive MAPKs (ERK, JNK, p38MAPK), as recently described (24). Total MAPKs were detected, with polyclonal antibodies for the various MAPKs as a control. The blots were developed with alkaline phosphatase or horseradish peroxidase-conjugated antimouse or antirabbit Fab antibodies (Jackson ImmunoResearch Laboratories, Inc., West Grove, PA) (24).
Cell culture, transfection, and CAT assay
Subconfluent LßT-2 cells were cotransfected, for 8 h, with 5 µg LHßCAT and 10 µg of the plasmids described in the legends, using the calcium phosphate method. The total amount of plasmid was adjusted to 20 µg with vector DNA in control experiments. The transfection efficiency was 1030%, as determined by transfection with a plasmid that contained RSV-LUC; 2436 h after transfection, the cells were serum starved for 16 h and incubated with GnRH-A or other stimulants or inhibitors as described in the legends. Cells were then harvested, and the cell extracts were analyzed for CAT activities (25), which were normalized to the level of RSV-LUC activity. Results were then calculated as fold increase relative to expression in control wells, and the data are shown as the mean ± SEM. The t test was used to determine statistically different groups, and significance was set at P < 0.05.
| Results |
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| Discussion |
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-subunit (
T31) and LHß/FSHß (LßT2) (26, 27) has enabled studies directed to elucidate the molecular steps involved in GnRH regulation of gonadotropin synthesis. Indeed, GnRH activates ERK, JNK, and p38MAPK in
T31 (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17) and LßT2 cells (Ref. 21 and present results).
The role of MAPK cascades in GnRH actions is controversial. Weck et al. (19) reported that PKC and ERK are involved in GnRH regulation of common
-, but not that of LHß subunit, which is mediated by elevation of Ca2+. Saunders et al. (28) reported opposite results, namely that Ca2+ mediates the GnRH effect on
-subunit expression and PKC mediates the effect on LHß. Call and Wolf (20) found that PKC and ERK, but not Ca2+, are involved in GnRH regulation of LHß gene expression. On the other hand, Yokoi et al. (21) found a role for JNK, but not for PKC and ERK, in regulation of LHß gene expression by GnRH. Still, we report here a role for ERK and JNK in GnRH regulation of the LHß gene. The opposing results can be explained by different cell types, promoters, and species used by the various authors. For example, whereas Yokoi et al. (21) are using a -156- to +7-bp rat LHß-promoter, we are using a -797- to +45-bp rat LHß-promoter, which might explain the different results.
The Ets family of transcription factors, such as Elk1, was implicated in mediating transcriptional responses to activation of the ERK cascade (10). Because common
- and LHß-promoters contain Ets or Ets-like family binding sites, they might mediate ERK involvement in common
- and LHß gene transcription. It was recently shown that expression of the LHß gene is modulated by the orphan nuclear receptor steroidogenic factor-1 (SF-1) and the early growth response (Egr) protein-1, both acting in a synergistic manner (29). Whereas SF-1 regulates both basal and GnRH-stimulated activities, Egr-1 participates only in the GnRH response. Indeed, Egr-1 expression is increased by GnRH in a PKC-dependent manner and is known to be modulated by MAPK (20, 29). Whether GnRH modulates SF-1 is not clear at the present time (3, 29, 30). Egr-1 might, therefore, be involved in the PKC/ERK pathway leading to LHß gene transcription. Kaiser et al. (30, 31) have identified two regions in the rat LHß-promoter, at -490 to -352 and -207 to -82 bp, that mediate the GnRH response and bind the transcription factor Sp-1, which might also be modulated by PKC (3, 30, 31). In addition, the JNK and ERK cascades might operate via the activation of Jun and Fos, respectively, acting on AP-1-like sites within the promoter. Indeed, c-Jun was recently implicated in GnRH activation of the LHß-promoter (21). Although both
- and LHß-promoters contain CREs that are usually activated by cAMP (28), it is unlikely that GnRH uses this signaling pathway as we and others have demonstrated (4, 5, 6). Interestingly, Jun and ATF-2, which are known substrates of JNK, were shown to bind to the CRE domain of the
-promoter (22). Nevertheless, unlike LHß, we could not find a role for JNK in basal or GnRH-stimulated
-subunit gene expression (Harris, D., O. Benard, D. Chuderland, R. Seger, and Z. Naor, manuscript submitted). It is therefore interesting to determine whether Jun and ATF-2 mediate JNK involvement in LHß-promoter activity by binding to the CRE domain.
Addition of ionomycin or removal of Ca2+ had no effect on GnRH-induced LHß-promoter activity. On the other hand, removal of Ca2+ abolished GnRH stimulation of common
-subunit gene regulation (Harris, D., O. Benard, D. Chuderland, R. Seger, and Z. Naor, manuscript submitted). Hence, Ca2+ participates in mediating differential activation of gonadotropin subunit gene expression. Removal of Ca2+ will reduce the exocytotic response to GnRH (see Refs. 4, 5, 6 for reviews). The interesting observation that LHß-promoter activity is enhanced by GnRH in a Ca2+-independent manner indicates dissociation between release and synthesis of LH, and that exocytosis is not a prerequisite for LHß gene expression as observed also for common
-subunit (32).
Stimulation of PKC by TPA enhanced LHß but not common
-subunit promoter activity; and down-regulation of endogenous PKC abolished GnRH-stimulated LHß but not
-promoter activity (present results and Harris, D., O. Benard, D. Chuderland, R. Seger, and Z. Naor, manuscript submitted). Also, TPA enhanced GnRH-induced
-, but not LHß subunit promoter activity. We therefore suggest that PKC plays a supportive and a central role in common
- and LHß-subunit promoter activities, respectively. Furthermore, as with Ca2+, PKC also participates in mediating the differential regulation of gonadotropin subunit gene expression by GnRH in pituitary gonadotrophs.
In this study we described a role for c-Src in GnRH-stimulated LHß gene regulation. Previously we found that c-Src is involved in ERK and JNK activation by GnRH (13, 24). It is therefore likely that c-Src participates in GnRH-stimulated LHß-subunit promoter activity in a JNK- and ERK-dependent mechanism.
Differential regulation of gonadotropin subunit genes can be achieved by various mechanisms. Some researches have proposed that alterations in the frequency of GnRH pulses will dictate specificity of the signal (33). Others have suggested that the density of GnRHRs might be involved in signal specificity (34). The present results and others (19, 20, 21, 23, 28, 32) emphasize that GnRH might use different signaling cascades to regulate selective gonadotropin subunit genes. We therefore propose that ERK be involved in regulating basal and GnRH-stimulated
- and LHß genes, whereas JNK mediates basal and GnRH-stimulated LHß-gene expression. Thus, by altering the relative activation of MAPK cascades, GnRH might regulate selective gonadotropin subunit genes, as in signal specificity in general (18).
Interestingly, although GnRH does not play a major role in proliferation or differentiation and is not a stress signal in pituitary gonadotrophs (35), nevertheless, GnRH stimulates MAPK cascades, which specialize in the above functions. We therefore suggest that GnRH operates via MAPK in differentiated functions, such as the selective regulation of gonadotropin subunit synthesis.
| Acknowledgments |
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| Footnotes |
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Abbreviations: CAT, Chloramphenicol acetyl transferase; CSK, C-terminal Src kinase; Egr, early growth response; GnRH-A, GnRH agonist; GnRHR, GnRH receptor; JNK, Jun N-terminal kinase; MEK, MAPK/ERK kinase; MAP3K/MEKK, MEK kinase; SF-1, steroidogenic factor-1; TPA, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate.
Received July 10, 2001.
Accepted for publication November 7, 2001.
| References |
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-subunit promoter by gonadotropin-releasing hormone. Mol Cell Biol 15:35313539[Abstract]
T31 cell line: differential roles of calcium and protein kinase C. Endocrinology 138:16731682
T31 cell line is mediated by protein kinase C, c-Src, and CDC42. Mol Endocrinol 12:815824
subunit gene bind similar proteins in trophoblasts and gonadotropes but have distinct functional sequence requirements. J Biol Chem 271:3165031656
- subunit in gonadotropin-releasing hormone-stimulated
T3-1 cell line. Biochemistry 31:1289312898[CrossRef][Medline]
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