Insulin Response Element Research Articles

Identification of 5′ regulatory regions of the human carnitine palmitoyltransferase II gene

We have identified two partially overlapping genomic clones that contain part of the 5′ regulatory region of the human carnitine palmitoyltransferase II gene. The 1.2 kb region upstream the transcription start site, as defined by primer extension experiments, shows promoter activity when inserted upstream of a reporter gene and contains a putative insulin responsive element.

Insulin-Responsive Regions of the Rat Fatty Acid Synthase Gene Promoter

Here we show that insulin may play a role in the diet-induced regulation of the rat fatty acid synthase (FAS; EC 2.3.1.85). Transient transfection of human and rat hepatoma cell lines with successively deleted FAS/CAT promoter fusion plasmids was used to determine the effect of insulin on FAS promoter activity. Our results indicate the existence of cis-acting insulin-responsive elements in the FAS promoter; the position of one of these is coincident with the position of a previously determined diet-induced DNAse I hypersensitive site (HSi-1) at approximately −500 bp relative to the transcription start site of FAS mRNA.

Identification of cis-elements mediating the stimulation of rat insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-1 promoter activity by dexamethasone, cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate, and phorbol esters, and inhibition by insulin.

Insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1) modulates the action of IGFs on target cells. IGFBP-1 transcription is highly regulated by hormonal and metabolic factors. In rat H4-II-E hepatoma cells, IGFBP-1 messenger RNA is stimulated by dexamethasone, cAMP, and phorbol esters, and dominantly inhibited by insulin. To identify the cis-elements that determine transcriptional regulation by these agents, we have coupled rat IGFBP-1 promoter fragments to a luciferase reporter gene and transfected H4-II-E cells using the cationic liposome procedure. Promoter fragments whose 5'-end was at nucleotide (nt) -925 or -327 (with respect to the transcription initiation site, 1) conferred positive regulation of promoter activity by dexamethasone, cAMP, and phorbol esters. Insulin inhibited promoter activity in the presence of any of the three stimulatory agents. Stimulation by cAMP or phorbol esters was abolished when the region between nt -327 and -235 was deleted. Although this region contains potential activating protein-2 and activating protein-1 sites, the sites responsible for this regulation have not yet been identified. By contrast, stimulation by dexamethasone was retained in deletion constructs whose 5'-end was at nt -92, but was abolished by site mutagenesis of either the left or right half-sites of a potential glucocorticoid response element (GRE) located between nt -91 and -77. Surprisingly, substitution mutations in an up-stream region, -108 to -99 (M4), also decreased dexamethasone-stimulated promoter activity despite the presence of an intact GRE. We postulate that a positive factor that binds to the wild-type M4 region neutralizes factors that inhibit interaction of the glucocorticoid receptor with the GRE. The M4 region also is involved in inhibition by insulin. Insulin inhibition of dexamethasone-stimulated promoter activity was lost after deletion of nt -135 to -92 or mutation of the region between nt -108 and -99. This insulin response element is conserved in the human IGFBP-1 promoter and is homologous to the insulin response element of the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase gene, which also is rapidly inhibited by insulin in H4-II-E cells. The rat IGFBP-1 promoter provides a valuable model system for studying the multihormonal regulation of transcription.

Identification of an insulin response element in the fatty acid synthase promoter.

We have previously reported that insulin increases fatty acid synthase (FAS) gene transcription, and that sequences responsible for positive regulation are located within the first 332 base pairs of the FAS promoter. To define minimal sequences required for insulin regulation within this region, chimeric constructs containing serial 5' deletions starting at -318 and extending through position +67 of the rat FAS gene ligated to the luciferase reporter gene were transfected into 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Insulin treatment at 10 nM increased luciferase activity 2-3-fold in 3T3-L1 adipocytes transfected with constructs containing progressive deletions from -318 to -67. This stimulation of the FAS promoter activity by insulin was dose-dependent. However, no effect of insulin was observed when fusion constructs containing FAS promoter sequences spanning from -25 or from -19 to +67 were transfected into adipocytes. These results suggest that the insulin response sequences of the FAS gene may be located in the region from -67 to -25. DNase I footprinting using liver nuclear extracts revealed a protected region spanning -71 and -50 in addition to a region near the putative TATA box. Gel mobility shift assays using the sequence from -71 to -50 as a probe revealed nuclear factor(s) from mouse liver and 3T3-L1 adipocytes that specifically complexed with this sequence. Mutational analysis of this region showed that sequences between -68 and -60 are essential for recognition and interaction with a trans-acting factor(s). Moreover, when three tandem repeats of the sequences spanning -68 to -52 were linked to the SV40 promoter and used for transfection, luciferase activity increased 3.6-fold in response to insulin treatment. Thus, we have identified novel cis-acting DNA sequences responsible for insulin regulation of the FAS gene, which interact with nuclear protein(s) from liver and adipocytes and which are found to share limited homology to insulin response sequences present in other genes.

Identification of an insulin-responsive element in the promoter of the human gene for insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1

Insulin inhibits the hepatic transcription of insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1). In the present studies, human HEP G2 hepatoma cells were transiently transfected with human IGFBP-1 gene promoter constructs in order to identify cis elements and trans-acting factors that confer the insulin effect. Transfections of IGFBP-1 promoter deletion constructs localized an insulin responsive element (IRE) between approximately 140- and approximately 103-base pair (bp) 5' to the mRNA capsite. This region contains a 25-bp sequence which is 100% conserved in the rat IGFBP-1 promoter and which has two AT-rich, 8-bp elements exhibiting dyad symmetry. Site-directed mutagenesis of both elements in the same 1205-bp IGFBP-1 promoter construct abolished the inhibitory effect of insulin on promoter activity. Also, the native but not the mutant IGFBP-1 IRE conferred the inhibitory effect of insulin to the heterologous thymidine kinase promoter. Gel mobility shift assays identified a DNA binding activity which specifically binds the native IGFBP-1 IRE and which is not altered by prior insulin treatment. The IGFBP-1 IRE sequence is similar to those of functionally mapped IREs from other gene promoters, suggesting that this common IRE and the protein(s) which it binds confer the insulin effect to a number of insulin-sensitive genes.

An insulin-responsive element in the pancreatic enhancer of the amylase gene.

We have identified a distinct insulin-responsive element (IRE) located within the pancreatic enhancer of the mouse amylase gene Amy-2.2. A 30-base pair (bp) fragment was previously shown to be sufficient to transfer insulin response to a heterologous promoter. The 30-bp fragment overlaps the tissue-specific pancreatic enhancer that binds the putative transcriptional activator PTF1. To determine whether enhancer and IRE activities could be separated, we introduced three 10-base pair substitutions into the 30-bp region. The mutated regulatory regions were cloned upstream of a heterologous promoter and transferred to transgenic mice. Mutants 1 and 2 retained PTF1 binding activity and insulin response. Mutant 3 retained PTF1 binding, but was defective in insulin response. The results indicate that the IRE is functionally distinct from the PTF1-binding site, although the two overlap physically. In contrast to the wild-type gene, mutant 3 is characterized by constitutive expression in diabetic animals, suggesting that a binding site for a repressor has been destroyed. A nuclear protein with affinity for the IRE was detected in normal and diabetic pancreas. This protein does not bind mutant 3, suggesting that it may be involved in negative regulation of amylase in diabetic pancreas.

An element in the prolactin promoter mediates the stimulatory effect of insulin on transcription of the prolactin gene.

An insulin response element (IRE) has been identified in the prolactin gene using chimeric plasmids in which prolactin promoter DNA directs expression of the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene. A series of 5'-deletion constructs starting between positions -173 and -106 and extending through position +75 of the prolactin gene were all stimulated greater than 10-fold by physiological concentrations of insulin in rat pituitary tumor GH4 cells. However, insulin did not stimulate constructs starting at positions -96 and -46, suggesting that the IRE of the prolactin gene may be located in region -106/-96. Insulin stimulation of prolactin-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase constructs requires cotransfection with a human insulin receptor expression vector. Estimation of insulin receptor levels by beta-subunit phosphorylation indicates that receptor levels are increased approximately 50-fold following transfection with the human insulin receptor expression vector. This requirement for cotransfection suggests that the endogenous receptor levels may not be adequate to couple the response of transfected genes to insulin. Gel mobility shift experiments reveal a nuclear factor from GH4 cells that specifically associates with prolactin DNA fragment -106/-87. The amount or binding activity of this factor is increased following insulin treatment of cells. The concordance between functional and binding analyses of the prolactin promoter confirms the presence of an IRE in region -106/-87. The insulin-sensitive DNA-binding factor may mediate effects of insulin on prolactin gene transcription.

Insulin and phorbol esters act through the same DNA element to inhibit phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase gene transcription.

Conference Article| August 01 1992 Insulin and phorbol esters act through the same DNA element to inhibit phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase gene transcription R. M. O'Brien; R. M. O'Brien 1Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University Medical School, Nashville, TN 37232-0615, U.S.A. Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar P. C. Lucas; P. C. Lucas 1Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University Medical School, Nashville, TN 37232-0615, U.S.A. Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar T. Yamasaki; T. Yamasaki 1Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University Medical School, Nashville, TN 37232-0615, U.S.A. Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar M. T. Bonovich; M. T. Bonovich 1Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University Medical School, Nashville, TN 37232-0615, U.S.A. Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar C. D. Forest; C. D. Forest 1Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University Medical School, Nashville, TN 37232-0615, U.S.A. Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar D. K. Granner D. K. Granner 1Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University Medical School, Nashville, TN 37232-0615, U.S.A. Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Biochem Soc Trans (1992) 20 (3): 686–690. https://doi.org/10.1042/bst0200686 Article history Received: April 09 1992 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Cite Icon Cite Get Permissions Citation R. M. O'Brien, P. C. Lucas, T. Yamasaki, M. T. Bonovich, C. D. Forest, D. K. Granner; Insulin and phorbol esters act through the same DNA element to inhibit phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase gene transcription. Biochem Soc Trans 1 August 1992; 20 (3): 686–690. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/bst0200686 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll JournalsBiochemical Society Transactions Search Advanced Search Keywords: AF, accessory factor binding site, CAT, chloramphenicol acetyltransferase, GAPDH, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, GR, glucocorticoid receptor binding site, GRU, glucocorticoid-response unit, IRE, insulin response element, IRS, insulin-response sequence, neo, neomycin resistance gene, PEPCK, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, TK, thymidine kinase This content is only available as a PDF. © 1992 Biochemical Society1992 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

Dietary regulation of pancreatic amylase in transgenic mice mediated by a 126-base pair DNA fragment.

Expression of the mouse pancreatic amylase gene Amy-2.2 is increased approximately 10-fold in response to increasing the carbohydrate content of the diet from 9.6 to 74%. The DNA sequence mediating this response has been localized to the 5' flanking region of the amylase gene by analysis of hybrid constructs in transgenic mice. The results define a 127-base pair dietary response unit that includes two previously described regulatory elements, an insulin-responsive element and a pancreatic enhancer. Fragments containing these two elements alone fail to respond to diet, demonstrating a requirement for additional regulatory sequences. Another mouse amylase gene Amy-2.1 is only minimally responsive to insulin and to diet. The data are consistent with the hypothesis that the insulin-response element is necessary but not sufficient for regulation of amylase by dietary carbohydrate.

Cloning of the rat insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1 gene and analysis of its 5′ promoter region

To understand specific mechanisms involved in the regulation of insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1), an important modulator of IGF bioactivity, we cloned the rat IGFBP-1 gene and sequenced a 1.5 kb Sph1-Sph1 fragment containing 1110 bases upstream from the translation start site. computer analysis reveals the presence of ATA, CACCC, and CCAAT elements, and putative homeodomain, AP-1, insulin and glucocorticoid response elements in the 5′ promoter. Primer extension and ribonuclease protection studies reveal a single cap site in RNA from rat hepatoma cells and both control and diabetic rat liver.

Multiple insulin-responsive elements regulate transcription of the GAPDH gene

Multiple elements in the upstream region of the GAPDH gene play a role in mediating the acute and chronic effect of insulin on GAPDH gene expression. The complexity of this regulation provides many layers of control. In differentiated tissues, the transcriptional response to insulin results from the additive effects of g/TRE, IRE-A and IRE-B. The gTRE may interact with newly synthesized c- fos/c- jun heterodimer to activate GAPDH gene transcription. Studies are underway to determine whether protein synthesis inhibitors affect the regulation of GAPDH. Because there are several elements that mediate the effect, it will be difficult to determine the significance of these findings until each cis-acting factor and its binding protein can be studied in isolation. IRE-A and IRE-B act together to promote a 5- to 8-fold insulin effect on HGAPDH-CAT in H35 hepatoma cells and a 3-fold effect in 3T3 adipoctyes. We have succeeded in detecting an insulin-sensitive DNA-binding protein referred to as IREA-BP with an element −480 to −435. Insulin treatment of differentiated 3T3 adipocytes for 1 hr results in a 4-fold increase in the amount of this binding protein, as estimated by the amount of 32P-labelled oligonucleotide retarded on non-denaturing PAGE (11). The effect of insulin on IRP-B is comparable. Furthermore, IREA-BP is induced during the process of fasting and refeeding rats, an important in vivo correlate with our tissue culture models (11). These observations imply that the binding proteins IREA-BP and IRP-B are essential components in the signal transduction pathway of insulin action on GAPDH gene expression in metabolically active tissues such as fat and liver. Differentiation-dependence and tissue-specificity are achieved through multiple regulatory elements and involve pre- and post-translational regulation of multiple transcription factors. IREA-BP is present in preadipocytes but activity is highly induced upon differentiation of preadipocytes to adipocytes. The IRE-B (−408 to −269) DNA binding protein is not detected in 3T3 preadipocytes. A gC/EBP like-protein takes part in the formation of this complex which may explain the inductive effect of differentiation on binding. Finally, footprint and cotransfection studies indicate that the differentiation-dependent protein C/EBP also regulates GAPDH gene transcription through a motif located within one hundred nucleotides of the promoter. We have begun to clone the IRE-A and IRE-B DNA binding proteins. An IRE-A binding protein that footprints the 3′ domain of the IRE-A has been cloned. Examination of the binding specificity of this protein has allowed us to postulate the existence of two or more domains in the IRE-A motif (see Fig. 1). We are in the process of raising antibodies to show that the protein which binds IRE-A in nuclear extracts is identical to IREA-BP. In the meantime we will explore the significance of the extensive homologies we have identified between this motif and elements in other insulin-sensitive genes.

Stimulation of endothelin-1 gene expression by insulin in endothelial cells.

The present study characterized the regulation of the genetic expression of the vasoactive peptide endothelin-1 (ET-1) by insulin in bovine aortic endothelial cells. By RNA blot analysis, insulin (1.67 x 10(-8) M) increased ET-1 mRNA levels by 2.3-fold over the basal within 10 min and attained a maximum (5.3-fold increase) in 2 h. Dose-response studies showed that a maximum effect of insulin was reached at 1.67 x 10(-8) M although a significant increase can be observed at 1.66 x 10(-9) M. Radioligand receptor studies indicated that the affinity constant for insulin receptors on endothelial cells correlated closely with the dose response observed for ET-1 mRNA. The ET-1 mRNA half-life was estimated with actinomycin D studies to be 20 min in control cells and was not affected by insulin treatment. Moreover, the effects of phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and insulin were additive in the induction of ET-1 gene expression. When protein kinase C in the bovine aortic endothelial cells was down-regulated by preincubation with 8 x 10(-7) M PMA for 24 or 48 h, insulin was still able to increase ET-1 mRNA levels whereas PMA was ineffective. Using a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) fusion plasmid containing the CAT gene and the 5'-flanking region of the ET-1 gene (Lee, M. E., Bloch, K. D., Clifford, J. A., and Quertermous, T. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 10446-10450), we observed that 1.67 x 10(-8) M insulin increased CAT enzyme activity and mRNA levels. The insulin dose-response curve observed for CAT activity correlated with that observed for ET-1 mRNA levels. These results suggest that insulin stimulates expression of the ET-1 gene at the transcriptional level via its own receptors. This effect is mediated mostly through a protein kinase C-independent pathway, suggesting the existence of an insulin-responsive element in the ET-1 gene 5'-flanking sequence.

DNA-binding properties of the product of the testis-determining gene and a related protein

THE upstream region of the human glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase gene contains an insulin-response element (IRE-A) responsible for insulin-dependent transcription of the gene. The open reading frame of a rat complementary DNA encoding a protein (IRE-ABP) that binds to this sequence contains an HMG box motif that is 67% identical to the mouse candidate gene for the testis-determining factor SRY, and 98% identical to the mouse SRY-like gene, a4. Here we report that IRE-ABP and SRY bind to IRE-A DNA with comparable specificity in a DNase-I footprinting assay. Two females with sex reversal were found to have a single amino-acid substitution in the HMG box domain of SRY at position 3 and 7, respectively. SRY derivatives containing corresponding mutations do not make contact with IRE-A DNA. These results are direct evidence that mouse SRY-like proteins are sequence-specific DNA-binding proteins and identify two amino acids critical to this interaction. Moreover, IRE-A is a candidate SRY-response element.

Insulin regulation of the glucagon gene is mediated by an insulin-responsive DNA element.

Diabetes mellitus is characterized by insulin deficiency and high plasma glucagon levels, which can be normalized by insulin replacement. It has previously been reported that glucagon gene expression is negatively regulated by insulin at the transcriptional level. By transfection studies, I have now localized a DNA control element that mediates insulin effects on glucagon gene transcription. This element also confers insulin responsiveness to a heterologous promoter. DNA-binding proteins that specifically interact with this insulin-responsive element are found in both glucagon- and non-glucagon-producing cells; and the pattern of binding, as assessed by the gel retardation assay, is not modified by prior insulin treatment.

An insulin response element in the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase gene binds a nuclear protein induced by insulin in cultured cells and by nutritional manipulations in vivo.

Two independent cis-acting insulin response elements (IREs) in the gene encoding glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase [D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate: NAD+ oxidoreductase (phosphorylating), EC 1.2.1.12], designated IRE-A and IRE-B, are sufficient to direct insulin-inducible gene expression. Using the electrophoretic mobility shift assay, a 4-fold increase in the amount of IRE-A DNA bound to nuclear proteins was detected when extracts isolated from insulin-stimulated differentiated 3T3-L1 cells or from the liver of rats refed a high-carbohydrate/low-fat diet after a 72-hr fast were compared to control nuclear extracts. The points of contact between protein and IRE-A DNA may represent a sequence recognized by at least one class of insulin-sensitive transcription factor(s).

Insulin enhances glucocorticoid induction of gene expression in a sequence specific manner

Glucocorticoid receptor (GR) induces transcriptional activation of specific genes by binding to cis-acting enhancer sequences termed glucocorticoid responsive elements (GREs). Insulin regulates gene transcription part of which is mediated sequences dominated by GREs. By transient expression in HTC cells of fusion gene consist MMTV 5' flanking sequences containing the GREs on the thymidine kinase promoter (TK) and the coding region of the chloramphenicol acetyl transferase gene (CAT), we demonstrate that insulin increases 2-fold the produced induction from dexamethasone, while insulin alone does not exceed any significant effect. This synergistic effect of insulin is sequence specific since, expression of the glucocorticoid unresponsive gene RSV-CAT at the same cell line is affected neither by insulin nor dexamethasone or both. Transient expression of CAT constructs with progressive 5' deletion mutants of mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) promoter, fail to detect a cis-acting insulin responsive DNA element, that participates in increased dexamethasone mediated induction. We believe that insulin activates an intracellular mediator-transcription factor, that stimulates gene expression indirectly, by interaction with the glucocorticoid receptor.