Transcriptional Regulation of the Mouse FKBP5 Gene by Progesterone and Glucocorticoid Receptor Binding

Abstract

Steroid hormone receptors bind to DNA and interact with transcription-regulating proteins to affect a change in gene expression levels. However, questions remain about their choice of binding sites in vivo and their cooperation with other transcription factors. This experiment uses chromatin immuno-precipitation (ChIP) to attempt to identify progesterone and glucocorticoid receptor binding sites in the mouse FKBP5 gene. However, no sites were identified due to poor-quality sheared chromatin. Use of a circulating water bath to maintain low temperatures during sonication could improve consistency in future experiments, and more cellular material could increase the likelihood of successful immuno-precipitations.