Transcriptional regulation of the nuclear gene encoding the α-subunit of the mammalian mitochondrial F1F0 ATP synthase complex:: Role for the orphan nuclear receptor, COUP-TFII/ARP-1

Our laboratory has been studying the transcriptional regulation of the nuclear gene (ATPA) that encodes the (x-subunit of the mammalian mitochondrial F1F0 ATP synthase complex. We have previously determined that the regulatory factor, upstream stimulatory factor 2 (USF2), can stimulate transcription of the ATPA gene through the cis-acting regulatory element 1 in the upstream promoter of this gene. In this study, we used the yeast one-hybrid screening method to identify another factor, COUP-TFII/ARP-1, which also binds to the ATPA cis-acting regulatory element 1. Binding of the orphan nuclear receptor, COUP-TFII/ARP-1, to the ATPA regulatory element 1 was confirmed using electrophoretic mobility shift experiments, and COUP-TFII/ARP-1-containing complexes were detected in HeLa cell nuclear extracts. A mutational analysis indicated that the binding site for COUP-TFII/ARP-1 in the ATPA regulatory element 1 is an imperfect direct repeat of a nuclear receptor response element (A/GGGTCA) with a spacer of three nucleotides. Functional assays in HeLa cells showed that COUP-TFII/ARP-1 represses the ATPA promoter activity in a dose- and sequence-dependent manner. Furthermore, cotransfection assays demonstrated that COUP-TFII/ARP-1 inhibits the USF2-mediated activation of the wild-type ATPA gene promoter but not a mutant promoter that is defective in COUP-TFII/ARP-1-binding. Overexpression of USF2 reversed the COUP-TFII/ARP-1-mediated repression of the ATPA promoter. Mobility shift assays revealed that COUP-TFII/ARP-1 and USF2 compete for binding to the ATPA regulatory element 1. Thus, the ATPA gene is regulated by a multifunctional binding site through which the transcription factors, COUP-TFII/ARP-1 and USF2, bind and exert their antagonistic effects.