Menin and JunD regulate gastrin gene expression through proximal DNA elements

Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2011 Nov;301(5):G783-90. doi: 10.1152/ajpgi.00160.2011. Epub 2011 Aug 18.

Abstract

Mutations in the MEN1 gene correlate with multiple endocrine neoplasia I (MEN1). Gastrinomas are the most malignant of the neuroendocrine tumors associated with MEN1. Because menin and JunD proteins interact, we examined whether JunD binds to and regulates the gastrin gene promoter. Both menin and JunD are ubiquitous nuclear proteins that we showed colocalize in the gastrin-expressing G cells of the mouse antrum. Transfection with a JunD expression vector alone induced endogenous gastrin mRNA in AGS human gastric cells, and the induction was blocked by menin overexpression. We mapped repression by menin to both a nonconsensus AP-1 site and proximal GC-rich elements within the human gastrin promoter. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays, EMSAs, and DNA affinity precipitation assays documented that JunD and Sp1 proteins bind these two elements and are both targets for menin regulation. Consistent with menin forming a complex with histone deacetylases, we found that repression of gastrin gene expression by menin was reversed by trichostatin A. In conclusion, proximal DNA elements within the human gastrin gene promoter mediate interactions between JunD, which induces gastrin gene expression and menin, which suppresses JunD-mediated activation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Cells, Cultured
  • DNA / genetics*
  • DNA / metabolism
  • Gastrins / genetics*
  • Gastrins / metabolism
  • Gene Expression Regulation
  • Humans
  • Promoter Regions, Genetic*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins / genetics*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins / metabolism
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-jun / genetics*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-jun / metabolism

Substances

  • Gastrins
  • JunD protein, human
  • MEN1 protein, human
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-jun
  • DNA