Synergistic activation of the human orphan nuclear receptor SHP gene promoter by basic helix-loop-helix protein E2A and orphan nuclear receptor SF-1

The orphan nuclear receptor small heterodimer partner (SHP; NR0B2) is an unusual orphan nuclear receptor that lacks a conventional DNA-binding domain and acts as a modulator of transcriptional activities of a number of nuclear receptors. We have previously reported that the orphan nuclear receptor ERRgamma activates the SHP promoter. In this study, we have found that basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors, the E2A proteins (E47, E12 and E2/5), activated the human but not the mouse SHP promoter. In contrast, the tissue-specific E47 heterodimer partner BETA2 repressed the E47- mediated transactivation of the human SHP (hSHP) promoter. Using serial deletions and E-box mutant constructs of the hSHP promoter, we identified two E-boxes (E6 and E7) as E47-responsive E-boxes, which are not conserved in the mouse SHP promoter. Moreover, gel shift, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and northern blot assays demonstrated that E47 directly binds to the hSHP promoter in vivo and in vitro and that Id proteins inhibited E47 binding to the hSHP promoter. Finally, we found that E47 and steroidogenic factor 1 (SF-1), a regulator of the SHP promoter, synergistically activate the human but not the mouse SHP promoter. Our findings suggest that the E2A proteins differentially regulate the human and mouse SHP promoters and cooperate with orphan nuclear receptor SF-1 for transcriptional activation of the hSHP promoter.