Negative regulation of expression of the pituitary-specific transcription factor GHF-1/Pit-1 by thyroid hormones through interference with promoter enhancer elements

Abstract

Expression of the growth hormone gene is due to the presence of the pituitary-specific transcription factor GHF-1/Pit-1. The action of the thyroid hormone T3 is mediated by nuclear receptors that regulate transcription by interaction with DNA elements located near promoters of the regulated genes. In this study, we show that T3 inhibits expression of the GHF-1/Pit-1 gene in rat pituitary GH4C1 cells by a novel mechanism that involves transcriptional interference with other regulatory elements of the promoter. Sequences between bp -90 and -200 of the rat GHF-1/Pit-1 gene which do not contain a hormone response element but contain two cyclic AMP-responsive elements mediate most of the repressive effect of T3. The hormone reduces basal levels of GHF- 1/Pit-1 promoter activity and antagonizes its response to cyclic AMP and the tumor promoter TPA (12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate). A similar repression is found with a heterologous promoter that contains four copies of the cyclic AMP-responsive element motif. This regulation provides a novel example of the cross-talk between the thyroid hormone receptor and the signal transduction pathways used by different hormones and growth factors. Additionally, T3 interferes with in vitro binding of GHF-1/Pit-1 to a positive autoregulatory element located at bp -45 to -63 and has a detectable inhibitory effect on the activity of a promoter construct which extends to bp -90 of 5'-flanking DNA. The regulation of the transcription factor provides a novel example of negative transcriptional regulation by thyroid hormones.