Silencing of transcription of the human luteinizing hormone receptor gene by histone deacetylase-mSin3A complex.

Modification of chromatin structure by histone acetylases and deacetylases is an important mechanism in modulation of eukaryotic gene transcription. The present study investigated regulation of the human luteinizing hormone receptor (hLHR) gene by histone deacetylases. Inhibition of histone deacetylases (HDACs) by trichostatin A (TSA) increased hLHR promoter activity by 40-fold in JAR cells and markedly elevated endogenous hLHR mRNA levels. Acetylated histones H3 and H4 accumulated in TSA-treated cells and associated predominantly with the hLHR promoter. Furthermore, TSA significantly enhanced the recruitment of RNA polymerase II to the promoter. One of the two Sp1 sites essential for basal promoter activity was identified as critical for the TSA effect, but the binding of Sp1/Sp3 to this site remained unchanged in the absence or presence of TSA. A multiprotein complex was recruited to the hLHR promoter via interaction with Sp1 and Sp3, in which HDAC1 and HDAC2 were docked directly to Sp1-bound DNA and indirectly to Sp3-bound DNA through RbAp48, while mSin3A interacted with both HDACs. HDAC1 and HDAC2 were shown to potently repress the hLHR gene transcription, and mSin3A potentiated the inhibition mediated by HDAC1. Our studies have demonstrated that the HDAC-mSin3A complex has an important role in the regulation of hLHR gene transcription by interaction with Sp1/Sp3 and by region-specific changes in histone acetylation and polymerase II recruitment within the hLHR promoter.