Activation of progesterone receptor by ATP

Progesterone-receptor complex from freshly prepared hen oviduct cytosol acquired the ability to bind to isolated nuclei, DNA-cellulose and ATP-Sepharose when incubated with 5-10 mM ATP at 4 degrees C. The extent of this ATP-dependent activation was higher when compared with heat-activation achieved by warming the progesterone-receptor complex at 23 degrees C. The transformation of progesterone-receptor complex which occurred in a time-dependent manner was only partially dependent on hormone presence. The ATP effect was selective in causing this transformation whereas ADP, AMP and cAMP failed to show any such effect. The non-hydrolyzable analogs of ATP, adenosine 5'-[alpha, beta-methylene]triphosphate and adenosine 5-[beta, gamma-imido]triphosphate were also found to be ineffective. Presence of 10 mM sodium molybdate blocked both the ATP and the heat-activation of progesterone-receptor complex. Mn2+ and Mg2+ had no detectable effect on the receptor activation but the presence of Ca2+ increased the extent of ATP-activation slightly. EDTA presence (greater than 5 mM) decreased the extent of receptor activation by about 40% and was, therefore, not included in the buffers used for activation studies. Divalent cations were also ineffective when tested in the presence of 1-5 mM EDTA. The steroid-binding properties of progesterone-receptor complex remained intact under the above conditions when analyzed for steroid-binding specificity and Scatchard analysis. However, the ATP-activated progesterone-receptor complex lost the ability to aggregate when tested on low-salt sucrose gradients. ATP was equally effective in activating the rat-uterine-estradiol-receptor complex at 4 degrees C and influenced the transformation of 4-S receptor form into a 5-S form when analyzed on sucrose gradients containing 0.3 M KCl. The presence of ATP also increased the rate of activation of progesterone-receptor complex at 23 degrees C. These findings suggest a role for ATP in receptor function and offer a convenient method of studying the process of receptor activation at low temperature and mild assay conditions.