Disease relevance of Hnf4

• Co-operation of the transcription factor hepatocyte nuclear factor-4 with Sp1 or Sp3 leads to transcriptional activation of the human haem oxygenase-1 gene promoter in a hepatoma cell line [1].

High impact information on Hnf4

• A Drosophila gene, HNF-4(D), was selected by cross-hybridization with a probe to rat HNF-4 (hepatocyte nuclear factor 4), a steroid hormone receptor super-family member that plays an important role in liver-specific gene expression [2].
• Site-direct mutagenesis analysis revealed that two regions were responsible for this enhancer activity, i.e. a hepatocyte nuclear factor-4 (HNF-4) homologous region and a GC box motif homologous region [1].
• Transactivation of the minimal promoter was also observed in HeLa cells co-transfected with HNF4 expression vector [3].
• Regions A, B and D each contain one Sp1 binding site, and region C contains a HNF4 site [3].
• These include the response elements of several other members of the superfamily, the vitamin D receptor, the thyroid hormone receptor, the retinoic acid receptor, the retinoid X receptor, the peroxisome proliferation activated regulator, and the hepatocyte nuclear factor-4 [4].

Other interactions of Hnf4

• This implies that molecular mechanisms regulating expression of these cuticle protein genes are also conserved. mRNAs coding for Bmsvp, the B. mori homolog of Drosophila Seven-up, which is known as a homolog of vertebrate COUP-TF, and BmHNF-4, a homolog of vertebrate HNF-4, were detected in the larval epidermis [5].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of Hnf4

• Electrophoretic mobility shift assays demonstrated that Sp1, Sp3 and HNF4 transcription factors bind these sites [3].

References