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Oestrogen and glucocorticoid responsive elements are closely related but distinct

Abstract

DNA sequences recognized by the glucocorticoid receptor1–4 are termed glucocorticoid-responsive elements1 because of their stimulatory effect on transcription. An oligonucleotide of 15 base pairs having partial or perfect symmetry is necessary for glucocorticoid induction5 and this same oligonucleotide is surprisingly also recognized by the progesterone receptor5. Here we define a palindromic sequence of 15 base pairs, modelled after a sequence element shared by the vitellogenin genes of frog and chicken6, which confers oestrogen inducibility on a heterologous promoter and can be converted into a glucocorticoid-responsive element by substitution of one or two bases at homologous positions in the palindrome. Considered with the observation that the DNA-binding domains of steroid receptors are closely related7, this finding demonstrates that the steroid-responsive elements constitute a family of related DNA sequences.

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Klock, G., Strähle, U. & Schütz, G. Oestrogen and glucocorticoid responsive elements are closely related but distinct. Nature 329, 734–736 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1038/329734a0

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