(Received for publication, June 21, 1995)
From the
1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D inhibits the proliferation
of the chronic myelogenous leukemia cell line RWLeu-4 but not the
resistant variant, JMRD
. Although these cells exhibit no
detectable differences in the vitamin D receptor, alterations in the
interaction of nuclear extracts with the
osteocalcin-1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D
-response element are
noted. It is shown herein that the 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D
receptor binds to the osteocalcin-1,25-dihydroxyvitamin
D
-response element along with activator protein-1 (AP-1)
complexes and that the DNA binding activities of members of the Jun and
Fos proto-oncogene families, which make up the AP-1 transcription
factor, are differentially regulated by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin
D
. It is shown that JunD DNA binding activity is enhanced
by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D
during cell cycle arrest in the
sensitive cells but is decreased in the resistant cells. These results
suggest that the level of JunD DNA binding activity may be a critical
factor in the regulation of proliferation.
1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D (VD
) (
)plays an important role in regulating the proliferation
and differentiation of myeloid
cells(1, 2, 3, 4) . Many of the
effects of VD
are mediated through the binding and
activation of high affinity nuclear receptors (VDRs) (5) that
show extensive sequence similarity to steroid, thyroid, retinoid, and
orphan nuclear receptors(6, 7) . The activity and
response element specificity of the VDR can be enhanced by nuclear
accessory factors such as the retinoid receptors and other non-receptor
transcription factors such as activator protein-1
(AP-1)(8, 9) .
Much attention has focused upon the
AP-1 transcription factor, which consists of a family of proteins
related to and including the c-Fos (FosB, Fra1, and Fra2) and c-Jun
(JunB, JunD) proto-oncogene products (10, 11) . The
dimeric forms of Jun and Fos family members bind to DNA exhibiting a
consensus sequence of TGA(C/T)TCA while monomers are unable to
functionally bind to DNA. These genes are expressed in a cell stage,
lineage, and inducer-specific
manner(11, 12, 13) , and it has been
demonstrated that although the Jun family members can bind to the same
DNA sequences, they do so with different affinities and may elicit
different responses with regard to expression of target
genes(14, 15, 16) . Since alterations in AP-1
activity can interfere with normal cell cycle progression, this
transcription factor may modulate the expression of genes involved in
cell growth and differentiation(17, 18, 19) .
Considering that VD treatment causes myeloid leukemia cells
to differentiate into monocyte/macrophage-like cells and cease
proliferating(3, 20) , one might expect that the
activity of members of the Fos and Jun families would be modified
during VD
-induced inhibition of proliferation and induction
of differentiation(21, 22) .
Investigations into
the effects of VD on the human chronic myelogenous leukemia
(CML) cell line RWLeu-4 have shown that subnanomolar concentrations of
VD
inhibit the proliferation and induce
monocyte/macrophage-like differentiation of these cells(20) .
To further investigations into the mechanism of the anti-proliferative
action of this hormone, a variant of the RWLeu-4 cell line, called
JMRD
, in which proliferation is not inhibited by VD
concentrations greater than 0.1 µM, has been
derived(23) . Although most previously described
VD
-resistant cell lines have mutations in the
VDR(24, 25, 26) , initial characterization of
the VDR expressed in RWLeu-4 and JMRD
cells indicates that
there are no significant differences in the affinity for VD
or number of receptors expressed in these lines(23) .
Furthermore, no differences are found in the DNA coding for the
receptor or the induction of VD
-responsive genes in the
sensitive and resistant cells(23) .
A series of experiments
are reported herein which show that nuclear extracts from the sensitive
and resistant cells express VDRs that bind to the human
osteocalcin-vitamin D-response element (OC-VDRE) along with AP-1
proteins and that the activity of these complexes is regulated by
VD. We also show that the inhibition of proliferation by
VD
in the sensitive cells is accompanied by an increase in
the DNA binding activity of AP-1 and that JunD is a major constituent
of these AP-1 complexes. These results suggest that AP-1, and in
particular JunD, may play an important role in the anti-proliferative
actions of VD
.
Although no differences were detected between the VDRs
expressed in the sensitive and resistant cells, analysis of
electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA) shows that differences in
the DNA binding activity are present in nuclear extracts from control (Fig. 1, lanes1-5) or
VD-treated cells (Fig. 1, lanes6-10). The band labeled VDR,
identified by competition with unlabeled OC-VDREs (lanes2 and 7), a consensus VDRE (lanes3 and 8), and by blocking with the 9a7 anti-VDR antibody (data not
shown), is present in both sensitive and resistant cell extracts. Lanes1 and 6 of both A and B show that the VDR is induced in both cell types although VDR
binding in JMRD
cell extracts is slightly less than that
seen in RWLeu-4 extracts. However, in agreement with previous
findings(23) , transient transfection experiments (Fig. 2) using luciferase reporter plasmids containing two
copies of the OC-VDRE demonstrate that both cell lines are equally
responsive to induction by VD
.
Figure 1:
Electrophoretic mobility shift of
OC-VDRE by RWLeu-4 (A) and JMRD (B)
nuclear extracts. Samples containing 10 µg of nuclear extract from
untreated cells (lanes 1-5) or from cells treated for 72
h with 50 nM VD
(lanes 6-10) were
used in DNA binding reactions as described under ``Experimental
Procedures.'' Site specificity was determined by simultaneous
addition of 100-fold molar excesses of competitor oligonucleotides. Lanes1 and 6 contain no competitor; lanes2 and 7 contain unlabeled OC-VDRE; lanes3 and 8 contain unlabeled DR3-VDRE; lanes4 and 9 contain unlabeled AP-1; lanes5 and 10 contain unlabeled NF-
B
as a negative control. Reactions were incubated for 20 min at room
temperature, and products were separated on 5% non-denaturing
polyacrylamide gels made with 0.5
Tris/borate/EDTA buffer for
90 min at 200 volts and visualized by
autoradiography.
Figure 2:
Analysis of VD responsiveness
of RWLeu-4 and JMRD
cells by transient transfection.
Triplicate cultures containing five million RWLeu-4 (solidbars) or JMRD
(hatchedbars) cells were transfected with 20 µg of
pGL2-(OC-VDRE)
(kindly provided by Dr. L. Freedman,
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center) and 1 µg of cytomegalovirus
promoter/human growth hormone construct in the absence or presence of
50 nM VD
. Fourteen hours after transfection
luciferase activity was assayed, and growth hormone was measured from
100 µl of supernatant by radioimmunoassay techniques. Promoter
activity is expressed as -fold induction of relative light units
divided by growth hormone expression (normalized relative light
units).
Because AP-1 binds to the
OC-VDRE(22, 29) , it was suspected that other bands in
the EMSA might contain Jun and Fos proteins. Experiments were
undertaken to determine if the activity of AP-1 is modified during
VD-induced inhibition of proliferation using competition
binding experiments with excess unlabeled oligonucleotides containing a
consensus AP-1 binding site. Fig. 1(lanes4 and 9) shows that AP-1 binding activity is present in
nuclear extracts of the sensitive and resistant cells but that AP-1
binding is increased by VD
treatment of the sensitive cells
and is decreased by VD
treatment of the resistant cells.
The slowest migrating band, seen only in VD
-treated RWLeu-4
cell extracts (lane6), is competed by the OC-VDRE (lane7), DR3-VDRE (lane8), AP-1
consensus sequences (lane9), as well as anti-VDR
antibodies (data not shown) and therefore appears to contain both VDR
and AP-1 associated with the same molecule. Binding specificity is
indicated by the failure of oligonucleotides containing NF
B
consensus sequences to block the binding of any bands.
EMSA
supershifting experiments were performed to determine whether
differences in AP-1 binding activity are due to the differential
activation of specific members of the Jun and Fos families. Antibodies
specific for the Jun and Fos family members were added after a
preincubation of extracts with radiolabeled OC-VDRE as indicated in the
legend for Fig. 3. Both RWLeu-4 (Fig. 3A) and
JMRD (Fig. 3B) express active JunD
(supershifted band in lane4) and c-Fos (supershifted
band in lane 5) proteins before treatment with VD
. However,
VD
treatment of the RWLeu-4 cells increases the DNA binding
activity of JunD (Fig. 3A, compare lanes4 and 11) but decreases JunD DNA binding activity in
JMRD
cells (Fig. 3B, compare lanes4 and 11). No consistent changes in other
members of the Jun and Fos families are detected in extracts from
either cell population using this technique. Fig. 4shows that
the increase in JunD DNA binding in the sensitive cells (Fig. 4A) is dependent upon the length of treatment
with VD
but that JunD participation in AP-1 binding
complexes in the resistant cells (Fig. 4B) decreases
over this period of treatment. Taken together these results indicate
that VD
differentially regulates the DNA binding activity
of AP-1 transcription factors, particularly those complexes containing
JunD proteins.
Figure 3:
EMSA
supershifting of OC-VDRE binding bands in RWLeu-4 (A) or
JMRD (B) nuclear extracts. OC-VDRE binding by
nuclear extracts from untreated cells (lanes 1-7) or
cells treated for 72 h with 50 nM VD
(lanes
8-14) was performed as described in Fig. 1.
Antibodies (0.1-1 µg) against Jun and Fos family members were
then added, and the incubations continued for an additional 30 min.
Reaction products were separated and visualized as described in Fig. 1. Lanes1 and 8 contain no
antibodies; lanes2 and 9 contain
anti-c-Jun; lanes3 and 10 contain
anti-JunB; lanes4 and 11 contain anti-JunD; lanes5 and 12 contain anti-c-Fos; lanes6 and 13 contain anti-FosB; lanes7 and 14 contain anti-Fra2. SS, supershifted
bands.
Figure 4:
EMSA
supershift of JunD and FosB in OC-VDRE complexes from extracts treated
for 0-72 h with VD. Nuclear extracts were prepared
from RWLeu-4 (A) or JMRD
(B) cells
treated with 50 nM VD
for 0 (lanes1-3), 24 h (lanes 4-6), 48 h (lanes 7-9), or 72 h (lanes 10-12). EMSA
supershift assays were performed with 15 µg of nuclear extract as
described in Fig. 3. Lanes 1, 4, 7, and 10 contain no added antibodies; lanes 2, 5, 8, and 11 contain 1 µg of antibody against JunD proteins; lanes 3,
6, 9, and 12 contain 1 µg of antibody against FosB as
an isotype-specific negative control. Lane13 contains 72-h extracts with 100-fold molar excess of unlabeled
OC-VDRE added.
Western immunoblots, shown in Fig. 5, confirm
that JunD protein in nuclear extracts increases in the sensitive cells
after VD treatment while the level of detectable JunD
protein decreases in extracts from the resistant cells. Slight
increases are seen in JunB, FosB, and Fra1 expression in RWLeu-4 cells,
although differences in the participation of these proteins in AP-1
complexes that bind to the OC-VDRE have not been detected. In addition,
this figure shows that extended treatment of RWLeu-4 cells with
VD
causes JunD to form a doublet band on immunoblots (lanes3 and 4). This could be due to
alterations in the structure of JunD, perhaps through changes in
phosphorylation, that could modulate the activity or accumulation of
the transcription factor(30, 31) .
Figure 5:
Detection of AP-1 oncoproteins by Western
immunoblotting. Nuclear extracts were prepared from RWLeu-4 (lanes
1-4) and JMRD (lanes5-8) cells treated with 50 nM VD
for 0 h (lanes 1 and 5), 24 h (lanes 2 and 6), 48 h (lanes 3 and 7), and 72 h (lanes 4 and 8). Aliquots containing 10 µg of
protein were separated on a 10% SDS-polyacrylamide gel and transferred
to Hybond
membranes (Amersham Corp.). Membranes were
blocked, incubated with antibodies, and visualized by ECL as described
under ``Experimental Procedures.'' Nonspecific binding was
determined by omitting the first antibody or by blocking with a 10-fold
excess of antibody-specific peptides.
These results
show that both the VD-sensitive RWLeu-4 and
VD
-resistant JMRD
CML cell lines express active
VDRs that are capable of binding to VDREs. The primary difference
detected between the sensitive and resistant cell lines lies in the
expression or activity of the AP-1 transcription factors. In
particular, the DNA binding activity of JunD in AP-1 complexes is
increased in the sensitive cells but is decreased in the resistant
cells. This observation is particularly salient considering the results
of Pfarr et al.(32) , which demonstrate that JunD can
decrease the transforming ability of activated Ras proteins. In CML,
the fusion of the bcr and abl proto-oncogenes results
in the expression of a chimeric p210
tyrosine kinase that can circumvent the need for
extracellular signals to activate the Ras signal transduction pathway,
thus leading to uncontrolled proliferation (33, 34) or
escape from apoptosis(35, 36) . Therefore, the
increased JunD activity in response to VD
in the sensitive
cells may indirectly inhibit the proliferative signals from
p210
and lead to a cessation of
proliferation and induction of differentiation.
The results
presented here suggest that the anti-proliferative actions of VD in these CML cells are mediated, at least in part, by alterations
in the nature of the Jun and Fos family members in AP-1 transcription
factors. These changes could differentially regulate the expression of
specific subsets of genes that are integral to the process of
proliferation.