Carpentier Rodolphe, Sacchetti Paola, Ségard Pascaline, Staels Bart, Lefebvre Philippe
Institut Pasteur de Lille, Lille, France.
J Neurochem. 2008 Feb;104(3):777-89. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-4159.2007.05055.x. Epub 2007 Nov 6.
Nurr1 (NR4A2) is an atypical nuclear receptor (NR) because of its inability to bind a ligand and to activate transcription following canonical NR rules. An affinity chromatography-based screen identified the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) as an interactant of Nurr1. The co-localization of these two NRs in the hippocampus and the substantia nigra, as well as their involvement in similar neurological processes led us to investigate the functional consequences of such a physical interaction. GR interfered with Nurr1 transcriptional activity, and Nurr1 association to GR confers glucocorticoid regulation to this orphan receptor. The N-terminal domain of Nurr1 interacts directly with GR, whereas several domains of GR can associate to Nurr1. The GR-mediated increase in Nurr1 transcriptional activity requires the N-terminal domain of GR, but not a functional DNA binding domain. Finally, SMRT and SRC2, two co-regulators of GR, modulated the transcriptional activity of the Nurr1-GR complex, but not that of Nurr1 alone. Our results therefore establish GR as a transcriptional regulator of Nurr1, and open new opportunities in the pharmacological regulation of Nurr1 by glucocorticoids in the CNS.
Nurr1(NR4A2)是一种非典型核受体(NR),因为它无法按照经典的NR规则结合配体并激活转录。基于亲和层析的筛选鉴定出糖皮质激素受体(GR)是Nurr1的相互作用蛋白。这两种核受体在海马体和黑质中的共定位,以及它们参与相似的神经学过程,促使我们研究这种物理相互作用的功能后果。GR干扰了Nurr1的转录活性,并且Nurr1与GR的结合赋予了这个孤儿受体糖皮质激素调节作用。Nurr1的N端结构域直接与GR相互作用,而GR的几个结构域可以与Nurr1结合。GR介导的Nurr1转录活性增加需要GR的N端结构域,但不需要功能性的DNA结合结构域。最后,GR的两个共调节因子SMRT和SRC2调节了Nurr1-GR复合物的转录活性,但不调节单独的Nurr1的转录活性。因此,我们的结果确立了GR作为Nurr1的转录调节因子,并为中枢神经系统中糖皮质激素对Nurr1的药理学调节开辟了新的机会。