Project description:Estrogen plays an important role in the regulation of vascular tone and in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease. Physiological effects of estrogen are mediated through estrogen receptors alpha (ERalpha) and beta (ERbeta), which are both expressed in vascular smooth muscle and endothelial cells. However, the molecular pathways mediating estrogen effects in blood vessels are not well defined. We have performed gene expression profiling in the mouse aorta to identify comprehensive gene sets the expression of which is regulated by long-term (1 wk) estrogen treatment. The ER subtype dependence of the alterations in gene expression was characterized by parallel gene expression profiling experiments in ERalpha-deficient [ERalpha knockout (ERalphaKO)] and ERbeta-deficient (ERbetaKO) mice. Importantly, these data revealed that ERalpha- and ERbeta-dependent pathways regulate distinct and largely nonoverlapping sets of genes. Whereas ERalpha is essential for most of the estrogen-mediated increase in gene expression in wild-type aortas, ERbeta mediates the large majority of estrogen-mediated decreases in gene expression. Biological functions of the estrogen-regulated genes include extracellular matrix synthesis, in addition to electron transport in the mitochondrion and reactive oxygen species pathways. Of note, the estrogen/ERbeta pathway mediates down-regulation of mRNAs for nuclear-encoded subunits in each of the major complexes of the mitochondrial respiratory chain. Several estrogen-regulated genes also encode transcription factors. Overall, these findings provide a foundation for understanding the molecular basis for estrogen effects on vasculature gene expression. Keywords: estrogen, estrogen receptor knockout, gene expression, mouse aorta
Project description:We are studying the mechanisms by which the estrogen receptor, ERalpha, is recruited to and regulates genes with a non-direct DNA binding. We performed ChIP-chip for ERalpha in E2 treated HeLa-ER cells, and looked at 19000 RefSeq genes to determine binding patterns of the receptor at promoters. The experiment was performed in duplicate.
Project description:Using a chromatin immunoprecipitation-paired end diTag cloning and sequencing strategy, we mapped estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) binding sites in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. We identified 1,234 high confidence binding clusters of which 94% are projected to be bona fide ERalpha binding regions. Only 5% of the mapped estrogen receptor binding sites are located within 5 kb upstream of the transcriptional start sites of adjacent genes, regions containing the proximal promoters, whereas vast majority of the sites are mapped to intronic or distal locations (>5 kb from 5' and 3' ends of adjacent transcript), suggesting transcriptional regulatory mechanisms over significant physical distances. Of all the identified sites, 71% harbored putative full estrogen response elements (EREs), 25% bore ERE half sites, and only 4% had no recognizable ERE sequences. Genes in the vicinity of ERalpha binding sites were enriched for regulation by estradiol in MCF-7 cells, and their expression profiles in patient samples segregate ERalpha-positive from ERalpha-negative breast tumors. The expression dynamics of the genes adjacent to ERalpha binding sites suggest a direct induction of gene expression through binding to ERE-like sequences, whereas transcriptional repression by ERalpha appears to be through indirect mechanisms. Our analysis also indicates a number of candidate transcription factor binding sites adjacent to occupied EREs at frequencies much greater than by chance, including the previously reported FOXA1 sites, and demonstrate the potential involvement of one such putative adjacent factor, Sp1, in the global regulation of ERalpha target genes. Unexpectedly, we found that only 22%-24% of the bona fide human ERalpha binding sites were overlapping conserved regions in whole genome vertebrate alignments, which suggest limited conservation of functional binding sites. Taken together, this genome-scale analysis suggests complex but definable rules governing ERalpha binding and gene regulation. Keywords: time course
Project description:We are studying the mechanisms by which the estrogen receptor, ERalpha, is recruited to and regulates genes with a non-direct DNA binding. We performed ChIP-chip for ERalpha in E2 treated HeLa-ER cells, and looked at 19000 RefSeq genes to determine binding patterns of the receptor at promoters. The experiment was performed in duplicate. ChIP-chip biological replicates for Eralpha in E2 treated HeLa-ER cells are included.
Project description:In breast cancer and normal estrogen target tissues, estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) signaling results in establishment of spatiotemporal patterns of gene expression. A time-course series of ChIP-chip experiments were performed to identify direct ERalpha target genes and determine whether these targets were transcriptionally activated or repressed by ERalpha. Keywords: Time-course ChIP-chip
Project description:Estrogen plays an important role in the regulation of vascular tone and in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease. Physiological effects of estrogen are mediated through estrogen receptors alpha (ERalpha) and beta (ERbeta), which are both expressed in vascular smooth muscle and endothelial cells. However, the molecular pathways mediating estrogen effects in blood vessels are not well defined. We have performed gene expression profiling in the mouse aorta to identify comprehensive gene sets the expression of which is regulated by long-term (1 wk) estrogen treatment. The ER subtype dependence of the alterations in gene expression was characterized by parallel gene expression profiling experiments in ERalpha-deficient [ERalpha knockout (ERalphaKO)] and ERbeta-deficient (ERbetaKO) mice. Importantly, these data revealed that ERalpha- and ERbeta-dependent pathways regulate distinct and largely nonoverlapping sets of genes. Whereas ERalpha is essential for most of the estrogen-mediated increase in gene expression in wild-type aortas, ERbeta mediates the large majority of estrogen-mediated decreases in gene expression. Biological functions of the estrogen-regulated genes include extracellular matrix synthesis, in addition to electron transport in the mitochondrion and reactive oxygen species pathways. Of note, the estrogen/ERbeta pathway mediates down-regulation of mRNAs for nuclear-encoded subunits in each of the major complexes of the mitochondrial respiratory chain. Several estrogen-regulated genes also encode transcription factors. Overall, these findings provide a foundation for understanding the molecular basis for estrogen effects on vasculature gene expression. Experiment Overall Design: Six estrogen receptor alpha knockout (ERaKO) and six estrogen receptor beta knockout (ERbKO) mice and ten of their wild-type littermates (all female, 2.5-4.5 months of age) were ovarioectomized. Half the mice from each genotype were implanted with 17beta-estradiol pellets, the other half with placebo pellets. After 7-8 days of estrogen/placebo treatment, aortas were harvested, total RNAs were purified for Affymetrix GeneChip microarray analysis, without pooling. This experiment consists of 6 groups with 3 (ERaKO and ERbKO) or 5 (WT) biological replicates per group, for a total of 22 samples.
Project description:Two subtypes of the estrogen receptor, ERalpha and ERbeta, mediate the actions of estrogens, and the majority of human breast tumors contain both ERalpha and ERbeta. To examine the possible interactions and modulatory effects of ERbeta on ERalpha activity, we have used adenoviral gene delivery to produce human breast cancer (MCF-7) cells expressing ERbeta, along with their endogenous ERalpha. We have examined the effects of ERβ expression on genome-wide gene expression by Affymetrix GeneChip microarrays. We find that ERbeta modulated estrogen gene expression on nearly 24% of E2-stimulated genes but only 8% of E2-inhibited genes. We find that ERbeta modulation is gene-specific, enhancing or counteracting ERalpha regulation for distinct subsets of estrogen target genes. Introduction of ERbeta into ERalpha-containing cells induced up/down-regulation of many estrogen target in the absence of any added ligand. In addition, ERbeta presence elicited the expression of a unique set of genes that were not regulated by ERalpha alone. ERbeta modulated the expression of genes in many functional categories, but the greatest numbers were associated with transcription factor and signal transduction pathways. Regulation of multiple components in the TGF beta, SDF1, and semaphorin pathways, may contribute to the suppression of proliferation observed with ERbeta both in the presence and absence of estrogen. Hence, ERbeta modulates ERalpha gene regulation in diverse ways that may contribute to its growth-inhibiting beneficial effects in breast cancer Keywords: modulatory effects of ERb on ERa
Project description:Using a chromatin immunoprecipitation-paired end diTag cloning and sequencing strategy, we mapped estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) binding sites in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. We identified 1,234 high confidence binding clusters of which 94% are projected to be bona fide ERalpha binding regions. Only 5% of the mapped estrogen receptor binding sites are located within 5 kb upstream of the transcriptional start sites of adjacent genes, regions containing the proximal promoters, whereas vast majority of the sites are mapped to intronic or distal locations (>5 kb from 5' and 3' ends of adjacent transcript), suggesting transcriptional regulatory mechanisms over significant physical distances. Of all the identified sites, 71% harbored putative full estrogen response elements (EREs), 25% bore ERE half sites, and only 4% had no recognizable ERE sequences. Genes in the vicinity of ERalpha binding sites were enriched for regulation by estradiol in MCF-7 cells, and their expression profiles in patient samples segregate ERalpha-positive from ERalpha-negative breast tumors. The expression dynamics of the genes adjacent to ERalpha binding sites suggest a direct induction of gene expression through binding to ERE-like sequences, whereas transcriptional repression by ERalpha appears to be through indirect mechanisms. Our analysis also indicates a number of candidate transcription factor binding sites adjacent to occupied EREs at frequencies much greater than by chance, including the previously reported FOXA1 sites, and demonstrate the potential involvement of one such putative adjacent factor, Sp1, in the global regulation of ERalpha target genes. Unexpectedly, we found that only 22%-24% of the bona fide human ERalpha binding sites were overlapping conserved regions in whole genome vertebrate alignments, which suggest limited conservation of functional binding sites. Taken together, this genome-scale analysis suggests complex but definable rules governing ERalpha binding and gene regulation. Experiment Overall Design: We used oligonucleotide expression microarrays (Affymetrix GeneChip U133 Plus 2.0) to identify estradiol (E2)-responsive genes in the estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer cell line, MCF7. MCF7 cells were grown to 30-50% confluency and exposed to 10 nM E2 (or vehicle only) at 12, 24, and 48 hours. Each timepoint was performed in triplicate (ie, biological replicates). Total RNA was isolated from cells using the Qiagen RNeasy kit, and 5 micrograms of total RNA was amplified, labeled and hybridized to the array according to the manufacturerâs protocols.
Project description:Two subtypes of the estrogen receptor, ERalpha and ERbeta, mediate the actions of estrogens, and the majority of human breast tumors contain both ERalpha and ERbeta. To examine the possible interactions and modulatory effects of ERbeta on ERalpha activity, we have used adenoviral gene delivery to produce human breast cancer (MCF-7) cells expressing ERbeta, along with their endogenous ERalpha. We have examined the effects of ERβ expression on genome-wide gene expression by Affymetrix GeneChip microarrays. We find that ERbeta modulated estrogen gene expression on nearly 24% of E2-stimulated genes but only 8% of E2-inhibited genes. We find that ERbeta modulation is gene-specific, enhancing or counteracting ERalpha regulation for distinct subsets of estrogen target genes. Introduction of ERbeta into ERalpha-containing cells induced up/down-regulation of many estrogen target in the absence of any added ligand. In addition, ERbeta presence elicited the expression of a unique set of genes that were not regulated by ERalpha alone. ERbeta modulated the expression of genes in many functional categories, but the greatest numbers were associated with transcription factor and signal transduction pathways. Regulation of multiple components in the TGF beta, SDF1, and semaphorin pathways, may contribute to the suppression of proliferation observed with ERbeta both in the presence and absence of estrogen. Hence, ERbeta modulates ERalpha gene regulation in diverse ways that may contribute to its growth-inhibiting beneficial effects in breast cancer Experiment Overall Design: MCF-7 cells expressing endogenous ERalpha were infected with adenovirus carrying either estrogen receptor beta (AdERb) or no insert (Ad) at multiplicity of infection (moi) of 5 or 50. Cells were infected with adenovirus for a period of 48hr before treatment with ligand (vehicle control or 10nM 17beta-estradiol) for a additional period of 24hr before harvest.