Transcription Factor CHOP

About: Transcription Factor CHOP is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 443 publications have been published within this topic receiving 46408 citations.

CHOP, a novel developmentally regulated nuclear protein that dimerizes with transcription factors C/EBP and LAP and functions as a dominant-negative inhibitor of gene transcription.

Abstract: We report on the identification of a nuclear protein that serves as a dominant-negative inhibitor of the transcription factors C/EBP and LAP. A 32P-labeled LAP DNA-binding and dimerization domain "zipper probe" was used to isolate a clone that encodes a new C/EBP-homologous protein: CHOP-10. CHOP-10 has strong sequence similarity to C/EBP-like proteins within the bZIP region corresponding to the DNA-binding domain consisting of a leucine zipper and a basic region. Notably, however, CHOP-10 contains 2 prolines substituting for 2 residues in the basic region, critical for binding to DNA. Thus, heterodimers of CHOP-10 and C/EBP-like proteins are unable to bind their cognate DNA enhancer element. CHOP-10 mRNA is expressed in many different rat tissues. Antisera raised against CHOP-10 recognize a nuclear protein with an apparent molecular mass of 29 kD. CHOP-10 is induced upon differentiation of 3T3-L1 fibroblasts to adipocytes, and cytokine-induced dedifferentiation of adipocytes is preceded by the loss of nuclear CHOP-10. Coimmunoprecipitation of CHOP-10 and LAP from transfected COS-1 cells demonstrated a direct interaction between the two proteins, in vivo. Consistent with the structure of its defective basic region, bacterially expressed CHOP-10 inhibits the DNA-binding activity of C/EBP and LAP by forming heterodimers that cannot bind DNA. In transfected HepG2 cells, expression of CHOP-10 attenuates activation of C/EBP- and LAP-driven promoters. We suggest that CHOP-10 is a negative modulator of the activity of C/EBP-like proteins in certain terminally differentiated cells, similar to the regulatory function of Id on the activity of MyoD and MyoD-related proteins important in the development of muscle cells.

ATF6 Activated by Proteolysis Binds in the Presence of NF-Y (CBF) Directly to the cis-Acting Element Responsible for the Mammalian Unfolded Protein Response

Abstract: Transcription of genes encoding molecular chaperones and folding enzymes in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is induced by accumulation of unfolded proteins in the ER. This intracellular signaling, known as the unfolded protein response (UPR), is mediated by the cis-acting ER stress response element (ERSE) in mammals. In addition to ER chaperones, the mammalian transcription factor CHOP (also called GADD153) is induced by ER stress. We report here that the transcription factor XBP-1 (also called TREB5) is also induced by ER stress and that induction of CHOP and XBP-1 is mediated by ERSE. The ERSE consensus sequence is CCAAT-N9-CCACG. As the general transcription factor NF-Y (also known as CBF) binds to CCAAT, CCACG is considered to provide specificity in the mammalian UPR. We recently found that the basic leucine zipper protein ATF6 isolated as a CCACG-binding protein is synthesized as a transmembrane protein in the ER, and ER stress-induced proteolysis produces a soluble form of ATF6 that translocates into the nucleus. We report here that overexpression of soluble ATF6 activates transcription of the CHOP and XBP-1 genes as well as of ER chaperone genes constitutively, whereas overexpression of a dominant negative mutant of ATF6 blocks the induction by ER stress. Furthermore, we demonstrated that soluble ATF6 binds directly to CCACG only when CCAAT exactly 9 bp upstream of CCACG is bound to NF-Y. Based on these and other findings, we concluded that specific and direct interactions between ATF6 and ERSE are critical for transcriptional induction not only of ER chaperones but also of CHOP and XBP-1.

Targeted disruption of the Chop gene delays endoplasmic reticulum stress–mediated diabetes

Abstract: Overload of pancreatic β cells in conditions such as hyperglycemia, obesity, and long-term treatment with sulfonylureas leads to β cell exhaustion and type 2 diabetes. Because β cell mass declines under these conditions, apparently as a result of apoptosis, we speculated that overload kills β cells as a result of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. The Akita mouse, which carries a conformation-altering missense mutation (Cys96Tyr) in Insulin 2, likewise exhibits hyperglycemia and a reduced β cell mass. In the development of diabetes in Akita mice, mRNAs for the ER chaperone Bip and the ER stress–associated apoptosis factor Chop were induced in the pancreas. Overexpression of the mutant insulin in mouse MIN6 β cells induced Chop expression and led to apoptosis. Targeted disruption of the Chop gene delayed the onset of diabetes in heterozygous Akita mice by 8–10 weeks. We conclude that ER overload in β cells causes ER stress and leads to apoptosis via Chop induction. Our findings suggest a new therapeutic approach for preventing the onset of diabetes by inhibiting Chop induction or by increasing chaperone capacity in the ER.

TRB3, a novel ER stress-inducible gene, is induced via ATF4–CHOP pathway and is involved in cell death

Abstract: C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP) is a stress-inducible nuclear protein that is crucial for the development of programmed cell death and regeneration; however, the regulation of its function has not been well characterized. Slbo, a Drosophila homolog of C/EBP (CCAAT/enhancer binding protein), was shown to be unstabilized by tribbles. Here, we identified TRB3 as a tribbles ortholog in humans, which associated with CHOP to suppress the CHOP-dependent transactivation. TRB3 is induced by various forms endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress later than CHOP. Tunicamycin treatment enhanced the TRB3 promoter activity, while dominant-negative forms of CHOP suppressed the tunicamycin-induced activation. In addition, the tunicamycin response region in the TRB3 promoter contains amino-acid response elements overlapping the CHOP-binding site, and CHOP and ATF4 cooperated to activate this promoter activity. Knockdown of endogenous ATF4 or CHOP expression dramatically repressed tunicamycin-induced TRB3 induction. Furthermore, knockdown of TRB3 expression decreased ER stress-dependent cell death. These results indicate that TRB3 is a novel target of CHOP/ATF4 and downregulates its own induction by repression of CHOP/ATF4 functions, and that it is involved in CHOP-dependent cell death during ER stress.