Division of Genetics, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
Genes Dev. 2010 May 15;24(10):980-5. doi: 10.1101/gad.1890410. Epub 2010 Apr 22.
How transcription factors interpret the cis-regulatory logic encoded within enhancers to mediate quantitative changes in spatiotemporally restricted expression patterns during animal development is not well understood. Pax6 is a dosage-sensitive gene essential for eye development. Here, we identify the Prep1 (pKnox1) transcription factor as a critical dose-dependent upstream regulator of Pax6 expression during lens formation. We show that Prep1 activates the Pax6 lens enhancer by binding to two phylogenetically conserved lower-affinity DNA-binding sites. Finally, we describe a mechanism whereby Pax6 levels are determined by transcriptional synergy of Prep1 bound to the two sites, while timing of enhancer activation is determined by binding site affinity.
在动物发育过程中,转录因子如何解读增强子中编码的顺式调控逻辑,从而介导时空受限表达模式的定量变化,目前还不太清楚。Pax6 是一个剂量敏感基因,对眼睛发育至关重要。在这里,我们确定了 Prep1(pKnox1)转录因子是晶状体形成过程中 Pax6 表达的关键剂量依赖性上游调节剂。我们表明,Prep1 通过结合两个系统发育上保守的低亲和力 DNA 结合位点来激活 Pax6 晶状体增强子。最后,我们描述了一种机制,其中 Pax6 的水平由结合到两个位点的 Prep1 的转录协同作用决定,而增强子的激活时间则由结合位点的亲和力决定。