The phosphorylation of the human estrogen receptor (ER) serine residue at position 118 is required for full activity of the ER activation function 1 (AF-1). This Ser118 is phosphorylated by mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) in vitro and in cells treated with epidermal growth factor (EGF) and insulin-like growth factor (IGF) in vivo. Overexpression of MAPK kinase (MAPKK) or of the guanine nucleotide binding protein Ras, both of which activate MAPK, enhanced estrogen-induced and antiestrogen (tamoxifen)-induced transcriptional activity of wild-type ER, but not that of a mutant ER with an alanine in place of Ser118. Thus, the activity of the amino-terminal AF-1 of the ER is modulated by the phosphorylation of Ser118 through the Ras-MAPK cascade of the growth factor signaling pathways.

The ubiquitin-proteasome and autophagy-lysosome pathways are the two major routes for protein and organelle clearance. In skeletal muscle, both systems are under FoxO regulation and their excessive activation induces severe muscle loss. Although altered autophagy has been observed in various myopathies, the specific role of autophagy in skeletal muscle has not been determined by loss-of-function approaches. Here, we report that muscle-specific deletion of a crucial autophagy gene, Atg7, resulted in profound muscle atrophy and age-dependent decrease in force. Atg7 null muscles showed accumulation of abnormal mitochondria, sarcoplasmic reticulum distension, disorganization of sarcomere, and formation of aberrant concentric membranous structures. Autophagy inhibition exacerbated muscle loss during denervation and fasting. Thus, autophagy flux is important to preserve muscle mass and to maintain myofiber integrity. Our results suggest that inhibition/alteration of autophagy can contribute to myofiber degeneration and weakness in muscle disorders characterized by accumulation of abnormal mitochondria and inclusions.

Summary: We generated two complementary systems for Cre-mediated recombination of target genes in the mouse digestive epithelium and tested them with a Crereporter mouse strain. Cre was expressed under the control of a 9 kb regulatory region of the murine villin gene (vil-Cre). Genetic recombination was initiated at embryonic day (E) 9 in the visceral endoderm, and by E12.5 in the entire intestinal epithelium, but not in other tissues. Cre expression was maintained throughout adulthood. Furthermore, transgenic mice bearing a tamoxifen-dependent Cre recombinase (vil-Cre-ER T2 ) expressed under the control of the villin promoter were created to perform targeted spatiotemporally controlled somatic recombination. After tamoxifen treatment, recombination was detectable throughout the digestive epithelium. The recombined locus persisted for 60 days after tamoxifen administration, despite rapid intestinal cell renewal, indicating that epithelial progenitor cells had been targeted. The villin-Cre and villin-Cre-ER T2 mice provide valuable tools for studies of cell lineage allocation and gene function in the developing and adult intestine. genesis 39: 186 -193, 2004.

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Estrogen prevents osteoporotic bone loss by attenuating bone resorption; however, the molecular basis for this is unknown. Here, we report a critical role for the osteoclastic estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) in mediating estrogen-dependent bone maintenance in female mice. We selectively ablated ERalpha in differentiated osteoclasts (ERalpha(DeltaOc/DeltaOc)) and found that ERalpha(DeltaOc/DeltaOc) females, but not males, exhibited trabecular bone loss, similar to the osteoporotic bone phenotype in postmenopausal women. Further, we show that estrogen induced apoptosis and upregulation of Fas ligand (FasL) expression in osteoclasts of the trabecular bones of WT but not ERalpha(DeltaOc/DeltaOc) mice. The expression of ERalpha was also required for the induction of apoptosis by tamoxifen and estrogen in cultured osteoclasts. Our results support a model in which estrogen regulates the life span of mature osteoclasts via the induction of the Fas/FasL system, thereby providing an explanation for the osteoprotective function of estrogen as well as SERMs.

Mammalian SWI/SNF complexes utilize either brahma (Brm) or brahma-related gene 1 (Brg1) catalytic subunits to remodel nucleosomes in an ATP-dependent manner. Brm was previously shown to be dispensable, suggesting that Brm and Brg1 are functionally redundant. To test this hypothesis, we have generated a Brg1 null mutation by gene targeting, and, surprisingly, homozygotes die during the periimplantation stage. Furthermore, blastocyst outgrowth studies indicate that neither the inner cell mass nor trophectoderm survives. However, experiments with other cell types demonstrate that Brg1 is not a general cell survival factor. In addition, Brg1 heterozygotes are predisposed to exencephaly and tumors. These results provide evidence that biochemically similar chromatin-remodeling complexes have dramatically different functions during mammalian development.

Current mouse gene targeting technology is unable to introduce somatic mutations at a chosen time and/or in a given tissue. We report here that conditional site-specific recombination can be achieved in mice using a new version of the Cre/lox system. The Cre recombinase has been fused to a mutated ligand-binding domain of the human estrogen receptor (ER) resulting in a tamoxifen-dependent Cre recombinase, Cre-ERT, which is activated by tamoxifen, but not by estradiol. Transgenic mice were generated expressing Cre-ERT under the control of a cytomegalovirus promoter. We show that excision of a chromosomally integrated gene flanked by loxP sites can be induced by administration of tamoxifen to these transgenic mice, whereas no excision could be detected in untreated animals. This conditional sitespecific recombination system should allow the analysis of knockout phenotypes that cannot be addressed by conventional gene targeting.The study of the genetic control of mammalian development and physiology has been revolutionized by the ability to inactivate (knockout) specific genes by homologous recombination in the mouse (1). However, using current gene targeting technology, interpretations of knockout phenotypes are often limited by several factors. First, the presence of a selection marker may influence the phenotype of the mutation (2, 3). Second, artefacts can arise due to the lack of a gene product for the whole lifetime of the animal. Third, the inactivation of a gene may result in intra-utero lethality, precluding analysis of the possible function(s) of the gene at later stages of development and/or post-natally. A conditional gene targeting method based on the inducible activity of an engineered DNA recombinase could overcome these limitations by allowing the removal of the selection cassette and the timed and tissuespecific inactivation of target genes at will during development and in the adult mouse (4). Furthermore, such an inducible system could help in certain cases to distinguish between anomalies related to a mixed genetic background and those due to mutation of the targeted gene.The bacteriophage P1 Cre recombinase efficiently excises DNA flanked by two directly repeated loxP recognition sites in mammalian cells (5, 6). We have previously reported that fusion of the ligand-binding domain (LBD) of the estrogen receptor (ER) to the Cre recombinase generates a chimeric recombinase whose activity in cultured cells is dependent on the presence of an estrogen (estradiol) or an anti-estrogen (tamoxifen) (7). To achieve conditional gene targeting in mice, where endogenous estradiol is present, we have subsequently fused Cre to a mutated LBD of the human ER (Gly 521 -> Arg, G521R) resulting in the chimeric protein Cre-ERT. Indeed, the corresponding mouse ER LBD mutant (G525R) does not bind 17,B-estradiol (E2), whereas it binds the synthetic ligands tamoxifen and 4-hydroxytamoxifen (OHT) (8). We report here that Cre-ERT is a functional tamoxifen-dependent recombinase in cultured cells and in transgenic m...

Conditional DNA excision between two LoxP sites can be achieved in the mouse using Cre-ER(T), a fusion protein between a mutated ligand binding domain of the human estrogen receptor (ER) and the Cre recombinase, the activity of which can be induced by 4-hydroxy-tamoxifen (OHT), but not natural ER ligands. We have recently characterized a new ligand-dependent recombinase, Cre-ER(T2), which was approximately 4-fold more efficiently induced by OHT than Cre-ER(T) in cultured cells. In order to compare the in vivo efficiency of these two ligand-inducible recombinases to generate temporally-controlled somatic mutations, we have engineered transgenic mice expressing a LoxP-flanked (floxed) transgene reporter and either Cre-ER(T) or Cre-ER(T2) under the control of the bovine keratin 5 promoter that is specifically active in the epidermis basal cell layer. No background recombinase activity could be detected, while recombination was induced in basal keratinocytes upon OHT administration. Interestingly, a dose-response study showed that Cre-ER(T2) was approximately 10-fold more sensitive to OHT induction than Cre-ER(T).