In vivo genomic footprinting of thyroid hormone-responsive genes in pituitary tumor cell lines.

We studied the effects of thyroid hormone (T3) on nuclear protein-DNA interactions by using dimethyl sulfate (DMS) and DNase I ligation-mediated PCR footprinting. We examined an endogenous gene the growth hormone (GH) gene, and a stably transfected plasmid containing the chicken lysozyme silencer (F2) T3 response element (TRE) gene, F2-TRE-TK-CAT, both in pituitary tumor (GC) cells. The 235-1 cell line, which expresses prolactin (PRL) and Pit-1, but not the T3 receptor (TR) or GH, was used as a control. DMS and DNase I footprinting identified protected G residues in the Pit-1, Sp1, and Zn-15 binding sites of the GH gene in GC, but not in 235-1, cells. There was no specific protection of the tripartite GH TRE at -180 bp against either DMS or DNase I in the absence or presence of T3 in either cell line. However, T3 increased protection of the Pit-1 and Sp1 binding sites against DMS in GC cells. In GC cells stably transfected with a plasmid containing F2-TRE-TK-CAT or TRalpha, chloramphenicol acetyltransferase expression was T3 inducible and DMS footprinting revealed both F2 TRE TR-binding half sites in a pattern suggesting the binding of TR homodimers before and during T3 exposure. We conclude that the GH gene is accessible to specific nuclear proteins in GC, but not in 235-1, cells and that T3 enhances this interaction, although there is no evidence of TR binding to the low-affinity rat GH TRE. The presence of TR binding to the high-affinity F2 TRE before and during T3 exposure suggests that reversible interaction of T3 with DNA-bound TRs, rather than transient T3-TR contact with TREs, determines the level of T3-stimulated transcriptional activation.