Science · 2000 · 247 citations · 29 references
Life SciencesGeneticsMolecular BiologyGene ExpressionGene RegulationTranscriptional RegulationAllosteric RegulationCell-type Specific Gene ExpressionGrowth HormoneNuclear ReceptorsPromoter RegulationTranscription FactorsAllosteric Regulation Of Transcription FactorsCell Type SpecificityCell-type Specific TranscriptionCorepressor RecruitmentDna Binding SitesGrowth Hormone Gene ExpressionTranscriptional Activator RecruitmentTranscriptional Repression Mechanisms
Reciprocal gene activation and restriction during cell type differentiation from a common lineage is a hallmark of mammalian organogenesis. A key question, then, is whether a critical transcriptional activator of cell type-specific gene targets can also restrict expression of the same genes in other cell types. Here, we show that whereas the pituitary-specific POU domain factor Pit-1 activates growth hormone gene expression in one cell type, the somatotrope, it restricts its expression from a second cell type, the lactotrope. This distinction depends on a two-base pair spacing in accommodation of the bipartite POU domains on a conserved growth hormone promoter site. The allosteric effect on Pit-1, in combination with other DNA binding factors, results in the recruitment of a corepressor complex, including nuclear receptor corepressor N-CoR, which, unexpectedly, is required for active long-term repression of the growth hormone gene in lactotropes.
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