Linked Life Data

10514435

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/10514435

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
42
pubmed:dateCreated
1999-11-19
pubmed:abstractText
Metallothioneins are small, cysteine-rich proteins that function in metal detoxification and homeostasis. Metallothionein transcription is controlled by cell-specific factors, as well as developmentally modulated and metal-responsive pathways. By using the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a model system, the mechanism that controls cell-specific metallothionein transcription in vivo was investigated. The inducible expression of the C. elegans metallothionein genes, mtl-1 and mtl-2, occurs exclusively in intestinal cells. Sequence comparisons of these genes with other C. elegans intestinal cell-specific genes identified multiple repeats of GATA transcription factor-binding sites (i.e. GATA elements). In vivo deletion and site-directed mutation analyses confirm that one GATA element in mtl-1 and two in mtl-2 are required for transcription. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays show that the C. elegans GATA transcription factor ELT-2 specifically binds to these elements. Ectopic expression of ELT-2 in non-intestinal cells of C. elegans activates mtl-2 transcription in these cells. Likewise, mtl-2 is not expressed in nematodes in which elt-2 has been disrupted. These results indicate that cell-specific transcription of the C. elegans metallothionein genes is regulated by the binding of ELT-2 to GATA elements in these promoters. Furthermore, a model is proposed where ELT-2 constitutively activates metallothionein expression; however, a second metal-responsive factor prevents transcription in the absence of metals.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Oct
pubmed:issn
0021-9258
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
15
pubmed:volume
274
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
29655-65
pubmed:dateRevised
2008-11-21
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1999
pubmed:articleTitle
Regulation of metallothionein gene transcription. Identification of upstream regulatory elements and transcription factors responsible for cell-specific expression of the metallothionein genes from Caenorhabditis elegans.
pubmed:affiliation
Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S., Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't