Glucocorticoid receptor binding sites (GRE) are often tightly clustered with other transcription factor binding sequences. Examples of this occur upstream of the genes for chicken lysozyme and human metallothionein IIA (ref. 3), in several retroviral LTRs and upstream of the rat tryptophan oxygenase (TO) gene. In the TO gene, sequences immediately upstream of a glucocorticoid receptor binding site are required for steroid induction and contain a CACCC-box identical to that found in the beta globin gene. Here we demonstrate specific binding to this TO-CACCC element and show that it will also act cooperatively with a MMTV glucocorticoid receptor binding site. The response to dexamethasone is independent of the order and relative orientation of these elements but does depend on their precise spacing. Optimal induction occurs at a periodicity of approximately 10 base pairs (bp) indicating a requirement for stereospecific alignment. Binding to the CACCC box, however, is not affected by its distance from the glucocorticoid receptor site. We conclude that the observed cooperativity is mediated by protein:protein interactions and does not depend on cooperative DNA binding.

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Cytochrome b558 isolated from human neutrophils was inactive and contained no detectable FAD. However, high NADPH oxidase activity was seen upon reconstitution of the cytochrome with either native FAD or 8-mercapto-FAD in the presence of phospholipids (phosphatidylcholine/phosphatidylethanolamine/phosphatidylinositol/ sphingomyelin/cholesterol, 4:2:1:3:3 (w/w)). Their cell-free superoxide-generating activities were 40.5 and 35.5 mol/s/mol of heme, respectively, which corresponded to 70 and 61% of the original activity of the plasma membranes. Both flavins co-eluted with heme and protein on gel exclusion chromatography. The respective specific flavin content was 6.45 and 7.93 nmol/mg of protein and corresponded to a flavin:heme molar ratio of 0.41 and 0.51 consistent with a 2:1 ratio of heme to flavin. Mixing of 8-mercapto-FAD with flavin-depleted cytochrome b558 caused a red-shift of the flavin absorption maximum from 520 nm to around 560 nm, as has been seen when a variety of other apoflavoprotein dehydrogenases bind this analog. The 8-mercapto-FAD reconstituted into the cytochrome reacted readily with either iodoacetamide (k = 38.8 M-1.min-1) or iodoacetic acid (k = 12.1 M-1.min-1) to give a fluorescence spectrum characteristic of a 8-mercaptoflavin derivative, 8-SCH2CONH2 FAD or 8-SCH2COOH FAD. These results indicate that position 8 of FAD bound to the protein is freely accessible to solvent. These studies support the idea that cytochrome b558 is a flavocytochrome.

Neutrophil-membrane-associated NADPH-cytochrome c reductase and cytochrome b558 were separately eluted and highly purified by a combination of ion-exchange Sepharose, N-amino-octylagarose, 2',5'-ADP-Sepharose and heparin-Sepharose column chromatographies. The purified cytochrome c reductase with an apparent molecular mass of 68 kDa contained FMN and FAD (FMN/FAD approx. 1). Cytochrome b558 prepared in the presence of phospholipids and FAD showed marked O2-.-producing activity (Vmax., 8.53 mumol of O2-./min per mg of cytochrome; Km for NADPH 58.8 microM) in a cell-free assay system consisting of cytosol, arachidonate and GTP[S]. However, when it was obtained without FAD added to the purification process, it had negligible FAD and little or no O2-.-forming activity in the reconstituted system. The NADPH oxidase activity was not markedly stimulated on incubation of the purified reductase with either flavinated or flavin-depleted cytochrome b558 in the cell-free system, suggesting that the reductase is not likely to be involved in neutrophil O2-. generation. The purified reductase cross-reacted with polyclonal antibodies against both hepatic NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase and a synthetic peptide, ILVGPGTGIAPFRSF, which indicates residues 529-543 located in the glycine-rich NADPH-binding domain of the P-450 reductase, but cytochrome b558 did not produce any immunoreactive bands to these antibodies. These antibodies also produced a positive reaction with a 76 kDa protein from dimethyl sulphoxide-induced HL-60-cell microsomes. After solubilization of the microsomal membranes, the 76 kDa protein was readily converted into a partially proteolysed form (68 kDa) even in the presence of antiproteases. In addition, the microsomal fraction shows a CO difference spectrum with a peak at about 454 nm and a trough at 476 nm in the presence of dithionite, indicating the presence of a cytochrome P-450-like haemoprotein.