Triiodothyronine nuclear receptor. Role of histones and DNA in hormone binding

The triiodothyronine (T3) nuclear receptor was previously shown to lose rapidly its high affinity hormone-binding property after a partial purification from the nuclear extract. It was then found that histones + DNA added to the incubation medium with labeled T3 could restore, at least in part, the high affinity T3 binding. We now demonstrate that DNA alone increases the high affinity T3 binding site concentration moderately, and only at low ionic strength where it can bind to the receptor. Total histones and all histone fractions studied (total core histones, F2a, H2B, H3, H4, H1) specifically increase, at low concentrations, the level of T3 binding; but higher concentrations of some individualized histones, particularly arginine-rich histones, have an inhibitory effect. DNA, or several other polynucleotides, in the presence of histones increase the stimulating histone effect and reverse the inhibitory effect into a true activation. Histones increase the number of T3 binding sites but decrease the affinity for T3; addition of DNA restores the high affinity for T3 and stabilizes the T3-receptor complexes. Thus, some of the histone molecules could play a role in the maintenance of the T3 binding site, but multiple interactions between histones or with DNA seem necessary to impair the negative effect exerted by other parts of the histone molecules. Whether these positive and negative effects of histones on the T3 binding site are of biological relevance in the regulation of T3 binding to its receptor remains to be determined.