BINDING OF THE GLUCOCORTICOID AND ESTROGEN-RECEPTORS TO THE HUMAN H-RAS ONCOGENE SEQUENCES

There is evidence that hormone regulation of cellular oncogenes plays an essential role in human cancer. The c-H-ras gene is implicated thro ugh both mutation and abnormal gene expression in many types of human cancer. Computer scanning of this gene has revealed two putative hormo ne response motifs: A possible Glucocorticoid Response Element (GRE) a t position 1261 of the first intron of the H-ras1 gene and a putative Estrogen Response Element (ERE), at position 3007 of the fourth intron of the gene. In DNA binding assays, using the HeLa and LATK-cell line s, we showed specific binding of the corresponding receptors at both p utative H-ras glucocorticoid and estrogen response sequences, suggesti ng that hormones could be contributing to H-ras transcriptional regula tion through interaction with their corresponding Hormone Response Ele ments (HREs).