ABSTRACT
The RE1-silencing transcription factor (REST)/neuron-restrictive silencer factor (NRSF) can repress transcription of a battery of neuronal differentiation genes in non-neuronal cells by binding to a specific consensus DNA sequence present in their regulatory regions. However, REST/NRSF(-/-) mice suggest that the absence of REST/NRSF-dependent repression alone is not sufficient for the expression of these neuronal differentiation genes and that the presence of other promoter/enhancer-specific activators is required. Here we describe the construction of a recombinant transcription factor, REST-VP16, by replacing repressor domains of REST/NRSF with the activation domain of a viral activator VP16. In transient transfection experiments, REST-VP16 was found to operate through RE1 binding site/neuron-restrictive enhancer element (RE1/NRSE), activate plasmid-encoded neuronal promoters in various mammalian cell types and activate cellular REST/NRSF target genes, even in the absence of factors that are otherwise required to activate such genes. Efficient expression of REST-VP16 through adenoviral vectors in NT2 cells, which resemble human committed neuronal progenitor cells, was found to cause activation of multiple neuronal genes that are characteristic markers for neuronal differentiation. Thus, REST-VP16 could be used as a unique tool to study neuronal differentiation pathways and neuronal diseases that arise due to the deregulation of this process.
Subject(s)
Cell Differentiation , Herpes Simplex Virus Protein Vmw65/metabolism , Neurons/cytology , Neurons/metabolism , Repressor Proteins/metabolism , Transcription Factors/metabolism , Adenoviridae/genetics , Antigens, Differentiation/genetics , Gene Silencing , Herpes Simplex Virus Protein Vmw65/chemistry , Herpes Simplex Virus Protein Vmw65/genetics , Humans , Plasmids/genetics , Protein Structure, Tertiary , RNA, Messenger/genetics , RNA, Messenger/metabolism , Recombinant Fusion Proteins/chemistry , Recombinant Fusion Proteins/metabolism , Repressor Proteins/antagonists & inhibitors , Repressor Proteins/chemistry , Repressor Proteins/genetics , Response Elements/genetics , Stem Cells/cytology , Stem Cells/metabolism , TATA Box/genetics , Transcription Factors/antagonists & inhibitors , Transcription Factors/chemistry , Transcription Factors/genetics , Transcriptional Activation , Transfection , Tumor Cells, CulturedABSTRACT
Medulloblastoma is the most malignant pediatric brain tumor. It is believed to originate from the undifferentiated external granule layer cells in the cerebellum, but the mechanism of tumorigenesis remains unknown. Here we studied three types of human medulloblastoma cells that express markers corresponding to different levels of neuronal differentiation. They expressed the neuronal repressor element 1 (RE1) silencing transcription factor/neuron-restrictive silencer factor (REST/NRSF; refs. 7-10) at very high levels compared with either neuronal progenitor NTera2 (NT2) cells or fully differentiated human neuron teratocarcinoma (hNT cells). To counter the effect of REST/NRSF, we used a recombinant transcription factor, REST-VP16, constructed by replacing repressor domains of REST/NRSF with the activation domain of viral protein (VP16). Transient expression of REST-VP16 in medulloblastoma cells was able to compete with the endogenous REST/NRSF for DNA binding and stimulate neuronal promoters. High-efficiency expression of REST-VP16 mediated by adenovirus vectors (Ad.REST-VP16) in medulloblastoma cells was able to counter REST/NRSF-mediated repression of neuronal promoters, stimulate expression of endogenous neuronal genes and trigger apoptosis through the activation of caspase cascades. Furthermore, intratumoral injection of Ad.REST-VP16 in established medulloblastoma tumors in nude mice inhibited their growth. Therefore, REST/NRSF may serve as a new target for therapeutic interventions for medulloblastoma through agents such as REST-VP16.
