The role of thyroid hormone receptor DNA binding in negative thyroid hormone-mediated gene transcription

Thyroid hormone 3,3′,5-tri-iodothyronine (T₃) regulates gene expression in a positive and negative manner. Here, we analyzed the regulation of a positively (mitochondrial glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase) and negatively T₃-regulated target gene (TSHα). Thyroid hormone receptor (TR) activates mGPDH but not TSH promoter fragments in a mammalian one-hybrid assay. Furthermore, we investigated functional consequences of targeting TR to DNA independent of its own DNA-binding domain (DBD). Using a chimeric fusion protein of the DBD of yeast transcription factor Gal4 with TR, we demonstrated a positive regulation of gene transcription in response to T₃. T₃-mediated activation of this chimeric protein is further increased after an introduction of point mutations within the DBD of TR. Moreover, we investigated the capacity of TR to negatively regulate gene transcription on a DNA-tethered cofactor platform. A direct binding of TR to DNA via its own DBD is dispensable in this assay. We investigated functional consequences of point mutations affecting different domains of TR. Our data indicate that the DBD of TR plays a key role in direct DNA binding on positively but not on negatively T₃-regulated target genes. Nevertheless, the DBD is involved in mediating negative gene regulation independent of its capacity to bind DNA.