We present genetic and biochemical evidence that PAX6 is a key regulator of pancreatic islet hormone gene transcription and is required for normal islet development. In embryos homozygous for a mutant allele of the Pax6 gene, Small eye (SeyNeU), the numbers of all four types of endocrine cells in the pancreas are decreased significantly, and islet morphology is abnormal. In the remaining islet cells, hormone production, particularly glucagon production, is markedly reduced because of decreased gene transcription. These effects appear to result from a lack of PAX6 protein in the mutant embryos. Biochemical studies identify wild-type PAX6 protein as the transcription factor that binds to a common element in the glucagon, insulin, and somatostatin promoters, and show that PAX6 transactivates the glucagon and insulin promoters.

The estrogen receptor is a transcription factor which, when bound to estradiol, binds DNA and regulates expression of estrogen-responsive genes. A 160-kilodalton estrogen receptor-associated protein, ERAP160, was identified that exhibits estradiol-dependent binding to the receptor. Mutational analysis of the receptor shows that its ability to activate transcription parallels its ability to bind ERAP160. Antiestrogens are unable to promote ERAP160 binding and can block the estrogen-dependent interaction of the receptor and ERAP160 in a dose-dependent manner. This evidence suggests that ERAP160 may mediate estradiol-dependent transcriptional activation by the estrogen receptor. Furthermore, the ability of antiestrogens to block estrogen receptor-ERAP160 complex formation could account for their therapeutic effects in breast cancer.

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