Search

Enhancers frequently contain multiple binding sites for the same transcription factor. These homotypic binding sites often exhibit synergy, whereby the transcriptional output from two or more binding sites is greater than the sum of the contributions of the individual binding sites alone. Although this phenomenon is frequently observed, the mechanistic basis for homotypic binding site synergy is poorly understood. Here, we identify a bona fide cardiac-specific Prkaa2 enhancer that is synergistically activated by homotypic MEF2 binding sites. We show that two MEF2 sites in the enhancer function cooperatively due to bridging of the MEF2C-bound sites by the SAP domain-containing co-activator protein myocardin, and we show that paired sites buffer the enhancer from integration site-dependent effects on transcription in vivo. Paired MEF2 sites are prevalent in cardiac enhancers, suggesting that this might be a common mechanism underlying synergy in the control of cardiac gene expression in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endothelin signaling is essential for neural crest development, and dysregulated Endothelin signaling is associated with several neural crest-related disorders, including Waardenburg and other syndromes. However, despite the crucial roles of this pathway in neural crest development and disease, the transcriptional effectors directly activated by Endothelin signaling during neural crest development remain incompletely elucidated. Here, we establish that the MADS box transcription factor MEF2C is an immediate downstream transcriptional target and effector of Endothelin signaling in the neural crest.We show that Endothelin signaling activates Mef2c expression in the neural crest through a conserved enhancer in the Mef2c locus and that CRISPR-mediated deletion of this Mef2c neural crest enhancer from the mouse genome abolishes Endothelin induction of Mef2c expression. Moreover, we demonstrate that Endothelin signaling activates neural crest expression of Mef2c by de-repressing MEF2C activity through a Calmodulin-CamKII-histone deacetylase signaling cascade. Thus, these findings identify a MEF2C-dependent, positive-feedback mechanism for Endothelin induction and establish MEF2C as an immediate transcriptional effector and target of Endothelin signaling in the neural crest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waardenburg syndromes are characterized by pigmentation and autosensory hearing defects, and mutations in genes encoding transcription factors that control neural crest specification and differentiation are often associated with Waardenburg and related disorders. For example, mutations in SOX10 result in a severe form of Waardenburg syndrome, Type IV, also known as Waardenburg-Hirschsprung disease, characterized by pigmentation and other neural crest defects, including defective innervation of the gut. SOX10 controls neural crest development through interactions with other transcription factors. The MADS box transcription factor MEF2C is an important regulator of brain, skeleton, lymphocyte and cardiovascular development and is required in the neural crest for craniofacial development. Here, we establish a novel role for MEF2C in melanocyte development. Inactivation of Mef2c in the neural crest of mice results in reduced expression of melanocyte genes during development and a significant loss of pigmentation at birth due to defective differentiation and reduced abundance of melanocytes. We identify a transcriptional enhancer of Mef2c that directs expression to the neural crest and its derivatives, including melanocytes, in transgenic mouse embryos. This novel Mef2c neural crest enhancer contains three functional SOX binding sites and a single essential MEF2 site. We demonstrate that Mef2c is a direct transcriptional target of SOX10 and MEF2 via this evolutionarily conserved enhancer. Furthermore, we show that SOX10 and MEF2C physically interact and function cooperatively to activate the Mef2c gene in a feed-forward transcriptional circuit, suggesting that MEF2C might serve as a potentiator of the transcriptional pathways affected in Waardenburg syndromes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The GATA family of zinc-finger transcription factors plays key roles in the specification and differentiation of multiple cell types during development. GATA4 is an early regulator of gene expression during the development of endoderm and mesoderm, and genetic studies in mice have demonstrated that GATA4 is required for embryonic development. Despite the importance of GATA4 in tissue specification and differentiation, the mechanisms by which Gata4 expression is activated and the transcription factor pathways upstream of GATA4 remain largely undefined. To identify transcriptional regulators of Gata4 in the mouse, we screened conserved noncoding sequences from the mouse Gata4 gene for enhancer activity in transgenic embryos. Here, we define the regulation of a distal enhancer element from Gata4 that is sufficient to direct expression throughout the lateral mesoderm, beginning at 7.5 days of mouse embryonic development. The activity of this enhancer is initially broad but eventually becomes restricted to the mesenchyme surrounding the liver. We demonstrate that the function of this enhancer in transgenic embryos is dependent upon highly conserved Forkhead and GATA transcription factor binding sites, which are bound by FOXF1 and GATA4, respectively. Furthermore, the activity of the Gata4 lateral mesoderm enhancer is attenuated by the BMP antagonist Noggin, and the enhancer is not activated in Bmp4-null embryos. Thus, these studies establish that Gata4 is a direct transcriptional target of Forkhead and GATA transcription factors in the lateral mesoderm, and demonstrate that Gata4 lateral mesoderm enhancer activation requires BMP4, supporting a model in which GATA4 serves as a downstream effector of BMP signaling in the lateral mesoderm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vertebrate heart forms initially as a linear tube derived from a primary heart field in the lateral mesoderm. Recent studies in mouse and chick have demonstrated that the outflow tract and right ventricle originate from a separate source of mesoderm that is anterior to the primary heart field. The discovery of this anterior, or secondary, heart field has led to a greater understanding of the morphogenetic events involved in heart formation; however, many of the underlying molecular events controlling these processes remain to be determined. The MADS domain transcription factor MEF2C is required for proper formation of the cardiac outflow tract and right ventricle, suggesting a key role in anterior heart field development. Therefore, as a first step toward identifying the transcriptional pathways upstream of MEF2C, we introduced a lacZ reporter gene into a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) encompassing the murine Mef2c locus and used this recombinant to generate transgenic mice. This BAC transgene was sufficient to recapitulate endogenous Mef2c expression, and comparative sequence analyses revealed multiple regions of significant conservation in the noncoding regions of the BAC. We show that one of these conserved noncoding regions represents a transcriptional enhancer that is sufficient to direct expression of lacZ exclusively to the anterior heart field throughout embryonic development. This conserved enhancer contains two consensus GATA binding sites that are efficiently bound by the zinc finger transcription factor GATA4 and are completely required for enhancer function in vivo. This enhancer also contains two perfect consensus sites for the LIM-homeodomain protein ISL1. We show that these elements are specifically bound by ISL1 and are essential for enhancer function in transgenic embryos. Thus, these findings establish Mef2c as the first direct transcriptional target of ISL1 in the anterior heart field and support a model in which GATA factors and... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]