Regulation of Eukaryotic Gene Expression (Biochem Ch 5) Flashcards
Result of acetylating lysyl residues in histones
- acetylating certain lysyl residues in the histones decreases the positive charge and weakens the interaction with DNA, which affects chromatin remodeling and ultimately gene expression
- a chromatin remodeling engine binds to acetylated lysyl residues and reconfigures the DNA to expose the promoter region.
- additional transcription factors (i.e. TBP, TFIID, etc) then bind in the promotor region and recruit RNA Polymerase
General Transcription Factor
binds to promotors and is necessary for every gene to be expressed
Specific Transcription Factors
- increase expression of specific genes
- bind to enhancers (enhancers can be upstream or downstream of a gene)
- hold general transcription factors in place at promotor so genes are expressed at a higher rate
- in a few cases bind to silencers
Examples of enhancers (found in Eukaryotes)
Enhancers are binding sites for activator proteins. Ex:
- Glucocorticoid response element (GRE)
- cAMP Response Element (CRE)
- Estrogen Response Element (ERE)
- remember: specific transcription factors bind to enhancers to increase expression of specific genes
Do Histone acetylases favor gene expression or inactive chromatin?
- Histone acetylases favor gene expression (acetylate certain lysyl residues –> decreases + charge–> weakens interaction with DNA)
- histone deacetylases favor inactive chromatin
Upstream promotor elements and location
- a CCAAT box (around -75) that binds a transcription factor NF-1
- a GC-rich sequence that binds a general transcription factor SP-1
Characteristics of enhancers (5)
- they may be up to 1000bp away from the gene
- may be upstream, downstream or within an intron of the gene they control
- orientation of the enhancer sequence w.r.t the gene is not important
- enhancers can appear to act in tissue-specific manner if the DNA-binding proteins that interact with them are present only in certain tissues
- enhancers may be brought close to the basal promoter region in space by bending the DNA molecule
Silencers
sequences that bind repressor proteins in eukaryotes
cis regulators
- cis regulators are DNA sequences on the same chromosome as the genes they regulate
- the DNA regulatory base sequences (i.e. promotors, enhancers, silencers, response elements, etc) in the vicinity of genes that serve as binding sites for proteins
trans regulators
- transcription factors and the genes that code for them are called trans regulators
- trans regulatory proteins can diffuse through the cell to their point of action
- these are on other chromosomes than the genes they regulate
Transcription factors
- transcription factors: the activator proteins that bind response elements
- contain at least 2 recognizable domains: a DNA-binding domain and an activation domain
Examples of DNA-binding domains in transcription factors
the DNA-binding domain binds to a specific nucleotide sequence in the promotor or response element. Ex:
- zinc fingers (steroid hormone receptors)
- leucine zippers (cAMP-dependent transcription factor)
- helix-loop-helix
- helix-turn-helix (homeodomain proteins encoded by homeotic/homeobox genes)
Zinc-fingers
- polypeptide with zinc
- translocates to nucleus when activated
- can bend in major and minor grooves because of the + charge in the zinc ion
- most common protein binding to DNA
- ex) found in steroid hormone receptors (all steroid receptors bind to DNA with zinc fingers)
the function of the activation domain on the transcription factor
the activation domain of transcription factors allows the transcription factor to:
- bind to other transcription factors
- interact w RNA polynmerase II to stabilize the formation of the initiation complex
- recruit chromatin-modifying proteins like histone acetylases or deacetylases
Steroid Receptors
- response element (binding site)
- function
- protein class
- response element (binding site): HRE/GRE
- function: steroid response
- protein class: zinc finger