Cross-talk among ROR alpha 1 and the Rev-erb family of orphan nuclear receptors.

We have cloned Rev-erb beta, a novel isoform of the Rev-erb alpha orphan nuclear receptor. The DNA binding domains of Rev-erb alpha and beta are highly related to each other and to the retinoic acid related orphan receptor (ROR)/RZR subfamily of nuclear receptors. Indeed, we find that all three receptors bind as monomers to the sequence AATGT-AGGTCA. Whereas ROR alpha 1 constitutively activates transcription through this sequence, both isoforms of Rev-erb are inactive. When coexpressed, both Rev-erb isoforms suppress the transcriptional activity of ROR alpha 1. Our data define Rev-erb and ROR/RZR as a family of related receptors with opposing activities on overlapping regulatory networks.