Synergistic activation of the rat growth hormone promoter by Pit-1 and the thyroid hormone receptor

Abstract

The rat GH (rGH) gene is expressed in the pituitary in a highly tissue-specific manner. A pituitary-specific transcription factor, Pit-1 (or GHF-1), and other, more tissue-general factors, including the thyroid hormone receptor (T3R), are important for regulating rGH promoter activity. The relative roles of Pit-1, T3R, and protein kinases in the activation of the rGH promoter were studied. Each component was supplied individually or in combination with the others to human monocyte U937 cells. The transfected rGH promoter was inactive in these cells even when it was cotransfected with either Pit-1 or T3R expression vectors. The rGH promoter carried in a truncated pUC vector could be activated by expression of the T3R if the cells were cultured with inducers of protein kinase-A (forskolin) and protein kinase-C [phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)] activity. By contrast, the PMA- and forskolin-dependent activation of the rGH promoter by Pit-1 expression was comparatively insignificant unless 1) the sequences deleted from the pUC vector (including a putative site for the transcription factor AP1) were restored to the plasmid carrying the rGH promoter; or 2) the T3R was coexpressed, which led to a marked synergistic response. These results indicate the relative inactivity of Pit-1 in isolation from other factors. Activation by forskolin and PMA did not require de novo protein synthesis. The synergistic activation by Pit-1 and the T3R was enhanced, but was not dependent upon, thyroid hormone (T3). The T3-dependent effect operated predominately through a thyroid hormone response element located up-stream of the two Pit-1-binding sites within the rGH promoter, whereas the T3-independent effect did not require any of the known T3R-binding sites on the rGH promoter. These results suggest a role for the more tissue-general T3R and protein kinases in the activation of the rGH promoter. They demonstrate the synergistic interplay between the T3R and Pit-1, underscore the dependence of Pit-1 action on other transcription factors, and implicate Pit-1 as a cofactor, rather than the dominant factor, influencing the tissue-specific expression of the rGH promoter.