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The estrogen sulfotransferase SULT1E1 sulfates and inactivates estrogen, which is reactivated via desulfation by steroid sulfatase, thus regulating estrogen homeostasis. Phenobarbital (PB), a clinical sedative, activates Sult1e1 gene transcription in mouse livers. Here, the molecular mechanism by which the nuclear receptors CAR, which is targeted by PB, and RORα communicate through phosphorylation to regulate Sult1e1 activation has been studied. RORα, a basal activity repressor of the Sult1e1 promoter, becomes phosphorylated at serine 100 and converts to an activator of the Sult1e1 promoter in response to PB. CAR regulates both the RORα phosphorylation and conversion. Our findings suggest that PB signals CAR to communicate with RORα via serine 100 phosphorylation, converting RORα from transcription repressor to activator of the Sult1e1 gene and inducing SULT1E1 expression in mouse livers.

Here, we have demonstrated that xenobiotic activation of the nuclear receptor (CAR, NR1I3) can result in arresting DNA-damaged human hepatocellular carcinoma Huh7 cells at the G2/M phase. Huh7 cells over-expressing CAR were either treated with dimethyl sulfoxide, the CAR activator TCPOBOP (1,4-bis[2-(3,5-dichloropyridyloxy)]benzene; androstenol, 16,(5α)-androsten-3α-OL), or repressor androstenol; these treatments were then followed by adriamycin treatment to damage DNA. FACS analysis revealed that CAR-activation by TCPOBOP increased the rate of arrested Huh7 cells at the G2/M phase (4N DNA content) after DNA damage by adriamycin. This increase correlated with the increase of cell viability in TCPOBOP-treated Huh7 cells, as determined by MTT assays. Real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis determined that, as regulated by CAR, the growth arrest and DNA damage-inducible γ (GADD45γ) and Cyclin G2 genes increased and decreased, respectively, as TCPOBOP increased the number of Huh7 cells arrested at the G2/M phase. Thus, the results suggest that CAR regulates cell cycle, increasing G2/M arrest, and delaying the death of DNA-damaged cells.

Antibodies against mouse-liver microsomal cytochromes P1-450 and P-448, two polycyclic aromatic inducible cytochromes, were previously developed [Negishi, M. and Nebert, D.W. (1979) J. Biol. Chem. 254, 11015-11023]. Liver microsomes from 3-methylcholanthrene-treated and phenobarbital-treated and control adult mice and 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin-treated adult and fetal mice were examined. Immunoprecipitable radioactivity was measured, following labeling with pyridoxal phosphate/NaB[3H]4 or with 125I-labeled p-aminosulfobenzoic acid/NaNO2 in vitro or with [3H]leucine, [14C]glucosamine, or [32P]O4 in vivo. (a) Induction of cytochrome P1-450 occurs developmentally earlier in gestation than induction of cytochrome P-448 when the mother is treated with polycyclic aromatic compounds. (b) There appears to be a basal form of cytochrome P-448 but no cytochrome P1-450 in control liver microsomes; inducibility of cytochrome P-448 thus ranges between 5--12-fold, whereas that of P1-450 is infinite. (c) Phenobarbital pretreatment induces no detectable P1-450 or P-448. (d) P-448 appears to be either greater in concentration than P1-450 in the membrane or more exposed than P1-450 on the microsomal membrane surface. (e) By the radioimmunoassay methods used, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin-induced P1-450 and P-448 in Ah-nonresponsive mice are indistinguishable from those in Ah-responsive mice; this is true in both the fetus and the adult. (f) Compared with P-448 expression, the expression of P1-450 is more closely associated with 3-methylcholanthrene-induced aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activity, and these two structural gene products are apparently regulated independently. (g) P-448 but not P1-450 appears to be a glycoprotein. These data illustrate further differences between two forms of polycyclic aromatic-inducible P-450 in mouse liver. Neither P1-450 nor P-448 appears to be a phosphoprotein. Neither anti-(P1-450) nor anti-(P-448) precipitates any forms of liver microsomal P-450 from beta-naphthoflavone-treated adult rabbits and, conversely, anti-LM4 (the antibody to rabbit liver microsomal P-450 form 4) does not precipitate any forms of liver microsomal P-450 from 3-methylcholanthrene-treated C57BL/6N mice.

Mouse abdominal B–like Hoxa genes are expressed and functionally required in the developing reproductive tracts. Mice lacking either Hoxa-10 or Hoxa-11, two of the AbdB Hoxa genes, exhibit abnormal uterine development similar to that induced by in utero diethylstilbestrol (DES) exposure. Indeed, uterine Hoxa-10 and Hoxa-11 expression is potently repressed by perinatal DES exposure, providing a potential molecular mechanism for DES-induced reproductive tract malformations. We have shown previously that DES can permanently alter uterine lactoferrin gene expression through modulation of the lactoferrin promoter methylation pattern. Here we ask whether a similar mechanism also functions to deregulate uterine Hoxa-10 or Hoxa-11 expression during neonatal DES exposure. We mapped the Hoxa-10 promoter by cloning a 1.485 kb DNA fragment 5′ of the Hoxa-10 exon1a. A 5′ rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) experiment revealed a transcription start site for the a10-1 transcript. Functional analysis of the proximal 200-bp sequences demonstrated significant promoter activity, confirming the location of the Hoxa-10 promoter. Moreover, methylation assays performed on eight CpGs in Hoxa-10 and 19 CpGs in Hoxa-11 proximal promoters demonstrated that all these CpGs were highly unmethylated in both control and DES-dosed mice from postnatal day 5 to day 30. Significant methylation around Hoxa-10 and Hoxa-11 promoters was only observed in DES-induced uterine carcinomas in 18-mo-old mice. Our results suggest that DES-induced downregulations of Hoxa-10 or Hoxa-11 gene expression are not associated with methylation changes in their proximal promoters and that gene imprinting by developmental DES exposure may be a gene-specific phenomenon. Published 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The crystal structure of SULT2A3 human hydroxysteroid sulfotransferase has been solved at 2.4 Å resolution in the presence of 3′-phosphoadenosine 5′-phosphate (PAP). The overall structure is similar to those of SULT1 enzymes such as estrogen sulfotransferase and the PAP binding site is conserved, however, significant differences exist in the positions of loops Pro14–Ser20, Glu79–Ile82 and Tyr234–Gln244 in the substrate binding pocket. Moreover, protein interaction in the crystal structure has revealed a possible dimer-directed conformational alteration that may regulate the SULT activity.

Chemical hepatocarcinogenesis in female mice, induced by 5,9-dimethyl(7H)dibenzo[c,g]carbazole, leads to the overexpression of a cytochrome P-450 of the 2a family. This protein was identified as Cyp2a-5, by the use of immunoblots obtained from isoelectric focusing gels. This method allowed the distinction of Cyp2a-5 from Cyp2a-4, another mouse liver cytochrome P-450, by taking advantage of their slightly different pI values. The theoretical pI values, determined from the amino acid sequence, were pI 9.91 for Cyp2a-4 and pI 10.01 for Cyp2a-5. Other structurally related forms were not detected. In hepatomas from female mice, only the Cyp2a-5 form was overexpressed (2–3 fold). Male mice showed a weak expression of Cyp2a-4 and Cyp2a-5 in control liver samples and in hepatomas. The expression of both forms was increased more than fivefold upon castration. Pyrazole induces specifically the Cyp2a-5 form. The Cyp2a-5 overexpression was correlated with enhanced microsomal coumarin-7-hydroxylase and testosterone-15α-hydroxylase activities. An immunohistochemical study showed that Cyp2a-4 and Cyp2a-5 are expressed uniformly in female livers, but centrilobularly in male livers. In hepatomas, this localisation is perturbed; in females we observed a focal cell localisation, and the Cyp2a-containing cells were often hypertrophic and polyploid. In hepatomas from male mice, the Cyp2a-containing cells became dispersed. From a comparison with other studies, the Cyp2a-5 overexpression appears to be a general feature of hepatocarcinogenesis in mice.

Clone 46 was previously shown to represent mouse cytochrome P1-450 cDNA by both translation arrest experiments and segregation of induced P1-450 mRNA with induced aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activity among individual 3-methylcholanthrene-treated offspring of the (C57BL/6N)(DBA/2N)F1 X DBA/2N backcross. With clone 46 as a probe, a MOPC 41 mouse genomic-DNA library was screened. lambda 3NT12, a 16 X 10(3)-base-pair insert of genomic DNA grown in a recombinant Charon 4A lambda vector phage, was isolated and characterized. It was determined that clone 46 hybridizes to the extreme 5' end of lambda 3NT12. pMJE12, a 3.0 X 10(3)-base-pair fragment in the 5' region of lambda 3NT12, was subcloned in plasmid pBR322 and used as a probe to screen again the same mouse-DNA library; recombinant phages lambda 3NT13, lambda 3NT14, and lambda AhP-1 were isolated and characterized. The relative orientation of each of the four genomic clones on the mouse chromosome was determined. Only lambda AhP-1 contains the entire P1-450 genomic gene, which by R-loop analysis spans about 46 X 10(2) base pairs and contains at least five exons. Clone 46 is shown to be a 3' unique sequence of the genomic P1-450 gene. The lambda AhP-1 genomic-DNA clone from the MOPC 41 plasmocytoma is shown by a series of restriction enzymes to be the same as genomic DNA from normal mouse liver. With a subclone in the 5' portion of the P1-450 gene, two and three hybridizable fragments are found with mouse genomic DNA that has been digested with EcoRI and BamHI, respectively.

Anti-(P1-450) and anti-(P-448) are two antibodies developed against distinctly different forms of 3-methyl- cholanthrene-induced cytochrome P-450 in C57BL/6N mouse liver microsomes [Negishi and Nebert, J. Biol. Chem. 254, 11015-11023 (1979)]. The effects of these antibodies on Long-Evans and Sprague-Dawley rat liver microsomes and rat ‘minimal deviation’ hepatoma 7777 microsomes were studied. Rat microsomal aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activity, induced by polycyclic aromatic compounds, is prefer- entially inhibited by anti-(P1-450) more so than anti-(P-448). Polycyclic-aromatic-induced rat liver microsomal acetanilide 4-hydroxylase activity is preferentially inhibited by anti-(P-448) more so than anti-(P1-450). Anti (P1-450) precipitates a 56-kDa moiety in polycyclic-aromatic-induced rat liver microsomes. Anti-(P-448) precipitates a 55-kDa moiety in control, phenobarbital-treated, or polycyclic-aromatic-induced rat liver microsomes. A heterogeneity was found amongst individual Morris ‘minimal deviation’ hepatomas 7777, indicating the 3-methylcholanthrene-induced aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase and acetanilide 4-hydroxylase'activities must represent different forms of rat P-450. Clone 46 DNA, a portion of the mouse cloned P1-450 structural gene, hybridizes to one gene (or a small number of genes) in rat liver and to 3-methylcholanthrene-induced rat 23-S P1-450 mRNA. As has already been shown in the mouse [Tukey, Nebert and Negishi, J. Biol. Chem. 256, 6969-6974 (1981)], rat liver P1-450 induction is under transcriptional control, and there is no evidence for gene amplification or some gross form of DNA rearrangement. These data demonstrate striking similarities between rat and mouse for the P1-450 structural gene, the P1-450 mRNA, the P1-450 protein and the P-448 protein. Polycyclic-aromatic-induced P1-450, and its association with polycyclic-aromatic-induced aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activity, therefore does not appear to be closely correlated with polycyclic-aromatic-induced P-448 in either rat or mouse.