scholarly journals Identification of the Candida albicans Cap1p Regulon

2009 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 806-820 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sadri Znaidi ◽  
Katherine S. Barker ◽  
Sandra Weber ◽  
Anne-Marie Alarco ◽  
Teresa T. Liu ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Cap1p, a transcription factor of the basic region leucine zipper family, regulates the oxidative stress response (OSR) in Candida albicans. Alteration of its C-terminal cysteine-rich domain (CRD) results in Cap1p nuclear retention and transcriptional activation. To better understand the function of Cap1p in C. albicans, we used genome-wide location profiling (chromatin immunoprecipitation-on-chip) to identify its transcriptional targets in vivo. A triple-hemagglutinin (HA3) epitope was introduced at the C terminus of wild-type Cap1p (Cap1p-HA3) or hyperactive Cap1p with an altered CRD (Cap1p-CSE-HA3). Location profiling using whole-genome oligonucleotide tiling microarrays identified 89 targets bound by Cap1p-HA3 or Cap1p-CSE-HA3 (the binding ratio was at least twofold; P ≤ 0.01). Strikingly, Cap1p binding was detected not only at the promoter region of its target genes but also at their 3′ ends and within their open reading frames, suggesting that Cap1p may associate with the transcriptional or chromatin remodeling machinery to exert its activity. Overrepresented functional groups of the Cap1p targets (P ≤ 0.02) included 11 genes involved in the OSR (CAP1, GLR1, TRX1, SOD1, CAT1, and others), 13 genes involved in response to drugs (PDR16, MDR1, FLU1, YCF1, FCR1, and others), 4 genes involved in phospholipid transport (PDR16, GIT1, RTA2, and orf19.932), and 3 genes involved in the regulation of nitrogen utilization (GST3, orf19.2693, and orf19.3121), suggesting that Cap1p has other cellular functions in addition to the OSR. Bioinformatic analyses of the bound sequences suggest that Cap1p recognizes the DNA motif 5′-MTKASTMA. Finally, transcriptome analyses showed that increased expression generally accompanies Cap1p binding at its targets, indicating that Cap1p functions as a transcriptional activator.

2017 ◽  
Vol 61 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhongle Liu ◽  
Lawrence C. Myers

ABSTRACT The human fungal pathogen Candida albicans develops drug resistance after long-term exposure to azole drugs in the treatment of chronic candidiasis. Gain-of-function (GOF) mutations in the transcription factor Tac1 and the consequent expression of its targets, drug efflux pumps Cdr1 and Cdr2, are a common mechanism by which C. albicans acquires fluconazole resistance. The mechanism by which GOF mutations hyperactivate Tac1 is currently unknown. Here, we define a transcriptional activation domain (TAD) at the C terminus of Tac1. GOF mutations within the Tac1 TAD, outside the context of full-length Tac1, generally do not enhance its absolute potential as a transcriptional activator. Negative regulation of the Tac1 TAD by the Tac1 middle region is necessary for the activating effect of GOF mutations or fluphenazine to be realized. We have found that full-length Tac1, when hyperactivated by xenobiotics or GOF mutations, facilitates the recruitment of the Mediator coactivator complex to the CDR1 promoter. Azole resistance and the activation of Tac1 target genes, such as CDR1, are dependent on the Tac1 TAD and subunits of the Mediator tail module. The dependence of different Tac1 target promoters on the Mediator tail module, however, varies widely. Lastly, we show that hyperactivation of Tac1 is correlated with its Mediator-dependent phosphorylation, a potentially useful biomarker for Tac1 hyperactivation. The role of Mediator in events downstream of Tac1 hyperactivation in fluconazole-resistant clinical isolates is complex and provides opportunities and challenges for therapeutic intervention.


2008 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. 1754-1766 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weiwei Chen ◽  
Thoa Dang ◽  
Raymond D. Blind ◽  
Zhen Wang ◽  
Claudio N. Cavasotto ◽  
...  

Abstract The glucocorticoid receptor (GR) is phosphorylated at multiple sites within its N terminus (S203, S211, S226), yet the role of phosphorylation in receptor function is not understood. Using a range of agonists and GR phosphorylation site-specific antibodies, we demonstrated that GR transcriptional activation is greatest when the relative phosphorylation of S211 exceeds that of S226. Consistent with this finding, a replacement of S226 with an alanine enhances GR transcriptional response. Using a battery of compounds that perturb different signaling pathways, we found that BAPTA-AM, a chelator of intracellular divalent cations, and curcumin, a natural product with antiinflammatory properties, reduced hormone-dependent phosphorylation at S211. This change in GR phosphorylation was associated with its decreased nuclear retention and transcriptional activation. Molecular modeling suggests that GR S211 phosphorylation promotes a conformational change, which exposes a novel surface potentially facilitating cofactor interaction. Indeed, S211 phosphorylation enhances GR interaction with MED14 (vitamin D receptor interacting protein 150). Interestingly, in U2OS cells expressing a nonphosphorylated GR mutant S211A, the expression of IGF-binding protein 1 and interferon regulatory factor 8, both MED14-dependent GR target genes, was reduced relative to cells expressing wild-type receptor across a broad range of hormone concentrations. In contrast, the induction of glucocorticoid-induced leucine zipper, a MED14-independent GR target, was similar in S211A- and wild-type GR-expressing cells at high hormone levels, but was reduced in S211A cells at low hormone concentrations, suggesting a link between GR phosphorylation, MED14 involvement, and receptor occupancy. Phosphorylation also affected the magnitude of repression by GR in a gene-selective manner. Thus, GR phosphorylation at S211 and S226 determines GR transcriptional response by modifying cofactor interaction. Furthermore, the effect of GR S211 phosphorylation is gene specific and, in some cases, dependent upon the amount of activated receptor.


2005 ◽  
Vol 280 (16) ◽  
pp. 16019-16029 ◽  
Author(s):  
Archana Jalota ◽  
Kamini Singh ◽  
Lakshminarasimhan Pavithra ◽  
Ruchika Kaul-Ghanekar ◽  
Shahid Jameel ◽  
...  

Various stresses and DNA-damaging agents trigger transcriptional activity of p53 by post-translational modifications, making it a global regulatory switch that controls cell proliferation and apoptosis. Earlier we have shown that the novel MAR-associated protein SMAR1 interacts with p53. Here we delineate the minimal domain of SMAR1 (the arginine-serine-rich domain) that is phosphorylated by protein kinase C family proteins and is responsible for p53 interaction, activation, and stabilization within the nucleus. SMAR1-mediated stabilization of p53 is brought about by inhibiting Mdm2-mediated degradation of p53. We also demonstrate that this arginine-serine (RS)-rich domain triggers the various cell cycle modulating proteins that decide cell fate. Furthermore, phenotypic knock-down experiments using small interfering RNA showed that SMAR1 is required for activation and nuclear retention of p53. The level of phosphorylated p53 was significantly increased in the thymus of SMAR1 transgenic mice, showingin vivosignificance of SMAR1 expression. This is the first report that demonstrates the mechanism of action of the MAR-binding protein SMAR1 in modulating the activity of p53, often referred to as the “guardian of the genome.”


1999 ◽  
Vol 19 (11) ◽  
pp. 7589-7599 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariano Ubeda ◽  
Mario Vallejo ◽  
Joel F. Habener

ABSTRACT The transcription factor CHOP (C/EBP homologous protein 10) is a bZIP protein induced by a variety of stimuli that evoke cellular stress responses and has been shown to arrest cell growth and to promote programmed cell death. CHOP cannot form homodimers but forms stable heterodimers with the C/EBP family of activating transcription factors. Although initially characterized as a dominant negative inhibitor of C/EBPs in the activation of gene transcription, CHOP-C/EBP can activate certain target genes. Here we show that CHOP interacts with members of the immediate-early response, growth-promoting AP-1 transcription factor family, JunD, c-Jun, and c-Fos, to activate promoter elements in the somatostatin, JunD, and collagenase genes. The leucine zipper dimerization domain is required for interactions with AP-1 proteins and transactivation of transcription. Analyses by electrophoretic mobility shift assays and by an in vivo mammalian two-hybrid system for protein-protein interactions indicate that CHOP interacts with AP-1 proteins inside cells and suggest that it is recruited to the AP-1 complex by a tethering mechanism rather than by direct binding of DNA. Thus, CHOP not only is a negative or a positive regulator of C/EBP target genes but also, when tethered to AP-1 factors, can activate AP-1 target genes. These findings establish the existence of a new mechanism by which CHOP regulates gene expression when cells are exposed to cellular stress.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (10) ◽  
pp. 3153 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Muñoz-Bello ◽  
Leslie Olmedo-Nieva ◽  
Leonardo Castro-Muñoz ◽  
Joaquín Manzo-Merino ◽  
Adriana Contreras-Paredes ◽  
...  

The Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway regulates cell proliferation and differentiation and its aberrant activation in cervical cancer has been described. Persistent infection with high risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) is the most important factor for the development of this neoplasia, since E6 and E7 viral oncoproteins alter cellular processes, promoting cervical cancer development. A role of HPV-16 E6 in Wnt/β-catenin signaling has been proposed, although the participation of HPV-18 E6 has not been previously studied. The aim of this work was to investigate the participation of HPV-18 E6 and E6*I, in the regulation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Here, we show that E6 proteins up-regulate TCF-4 transcriptional activity and promote overexpression of Wnt target genes. In addition, it was demonstrated that E6 and E6*I bind to the TCF-4 (T cell factor 4) and β-catenin, impacting TCF-4 stabilization. We found that both E6 and E6*I proteins interact with the promoter of Sp5, in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, although differences in TCF-4 transcriptional activation were found among E6 intratype variants, no changes were observed in the levels of regulated genes. Furthermore, our data support that E6 proteins cooperate with β-catenin to promote cell proliferation.


Development ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 126 (1) ◽  
pp. 191-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.G. Kramer ◽  
T.M. Jinks ◽  
P. Schedl ◽  
J.P. Gergen

Runt functions as a transcriptional regulator in multiple developmental pathways in Drosophila melanogaster. Recent evidence indicates that Runt represses the transcription of several downstream target genes in the segmentation pathway. Here we demonstrate that runt also functions to activate transcription. The initial expression of the female-specific sex-determining gene Sex-lethal in the blastoderm embryo requires runt activity. Consistent with a role as a direct activator, Runt shows sequence-specific binding to multiple sites in the Sex-lethal early promoter. Using an in vivo transient assay, we demonstrate that Runt's DNA-binding activity is essential for Sex-lethal activation in vivo. These experiments further reveal that increasing the dosage of runt alone is sufficient for triggering the transcriptional activation of Sex-lethal in males. In addition, a Runt fusion protein, containing a heterologous transcriptional activation domain activates Sex-lethal expression, indicating that this regulation is direct and not via repression of other repressors. Moreover, we demonstrate that a small segment of the Sex-lethal early promoter that contains Runt-binding sites mediates Runt-dependent transcriptional activation in vivo.


2012 ◽  
Vol 111 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Noack ◽  
Maria P Zafiriou ◽  
Anke Renger ◽  
Hans J Schaeffer ◽  
Martin W Bergmann ◽  
...  

Wnt/β-catenin signaling controls adult heart remodeling partly by regulating cardiac progenitor cell (CPC) differentiation. We now identified and characterized a novel cardiac interaction of the transcription factor Krueppel-like factor 15 (KLF15) with the Wnt/β-catenin signaling on adult CPCs. In vitro mutation, reporter gene assays and co-localization studies revealed that KLF15 requires two distinct domains for nuclear localization and for repression of β-catenin-mediated transcription. KLF15 had no effect on β-catenin stability or cellular localization, but interacted with its co-factor TCF4, which is required for activation of β-catenin target gene expression. Moreover, increased TCF4 ubiquitination was induced by KLF15. In line with this finding we found KLF15 to interact with the Nemo-like kinase, which was shown to phosphorylate and target TCF4 for degradation. In vivo analyses of adult Klf15 functional knock-out (KO) vs. wild-type (WT) mice showed a cardiac β-catenin-mediated transcriptional activation and reduced TCF4 degradation along with cardiac dysfunction assessed by echocardiography (n=10). FACS analysis of the CPC enriched-population of KO vs. WT mice revealed a significant reduction of cardiogenic-committed precursors identified as Sca1+/αMHC+ (0.8±0.2% vs. 1.8±0.1%) and Tbx5+ (3.5±0.3% vs. 5.2±0.5%). In contrast, endothelial Sca1+/CD31+ cells were significantly higher in KO mice (11.3±0.4% vs. 8.6±0.4%; n≥9). In addition, Sca1+ isolated cells of Klf15 KO showed increased RNA expression of endothelial markers von Willebrand Factor, CD105, and Flk1 along with upregulation of β-catenin target genes. CPCs co-cultured on adult fibroblasts resulted in increased endothelial Flk1 cells and reduction of αMHC and Hand1 cardiogenic cells in KO vs. WT CPCs (n=9). Treating these co-cultures with Quercetin, an inhibitor of nuclear β-catenin, resulted in partial rescue of the observed phenotype. This study uncovers a critical role of KLF15 for the maintenance of cardiac tissue homeostasis. Via inhibition of β-catenin transcription, KLF15 controls cardiomyogenic cell fate similar to embryonic cardiogenesis. This knowledge may provide a tool for activation of endogenous CPCs in the postnatal heart.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory C. Addicks ◽  
Caroline E. Brun ◽  
Marie-Claude Sincennes ◽  
John Saber ◽  
Christopher J. Porter ◽  
...  

Abstract PAX7 is a paired-homeobox transcription factor that specifies the myogenic identity of muscle stem cells and acts as a nodal factor by stimulating proliferation while inhibiting differentiation. We previously found that PAX7 recruits the H3K4 methyltransferases MLL1/2 to epigenetically activate target genes. Here we report that in the absence of Mll1, myoblasts exhibit reduced H3K4me3 at both Pax7 and Myf5 promoters and reduced Pax7 and Myf5 expression. Mll1-deficient myoblasts fail to proliferate but retain their differentiation potential, while deletion of Mll2 had no discernable effect. Re-expression of PAX7 in committed Mll1 cKO myoblasts restored H3K4me3 enrichment at the Myf5 promoter and Myf5 expression. Deletion of Mll1 in satellite cells reduced satellite cell proliferation and self-renewal, and significantly impaired skeletal muscle regeneration. Pax7 expression was unaffected in quiescent satellite cells but was markedly downregulated following satellite cell activation. Therefore, MLL1 is required for PAX7 expression and satellite cell function in vivo. Furthermore, PAX7, but not MLL1, is required for Myf5 transcriptional activation in committed myoblasts.


2000 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 1616-1625 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Chen ◽  
R. H. Goodman ◽  
Sarah M. Smolik

ABSTRACT CREB-binding protein (CBP) serves as a transcriptional coactivator in multiple signal transduction pathways. The Drosophilahomologue of CBP, dCBP, interacts with the transcription factors Cubitus interruptus (CI), MAD, and Dorsal (DL) and functions as a coactivator in several signaling pathways during Drosophiladevelopment, including the hedgehog (hh),decapentaplegic (dpp), and Tollpathways. Although dCBP is required for the expression of thehh target genes, wingless (wg) andpatched (ptc) in vivo, and potentiatesci-mediated transcriptional activation in vitro, it is not known that ci absolutely requires dCBP for its activity. We used a yeast genetic screen to identify several ci point mutations that disrupt CI-dCBP interactions. These mutant proteins are unable to transactivate a reporter gene regulated by cibinding sites and have a lower dCBP-stimulated activity than wild-type CI. When expressed exogenously in embryos, the CI point mutants cannot activate endogenous wg expression. Furthermore, a CI mutant protein that lacks the entire dCBP interaction domain functions as a negative competitor for wild-type CI activity, and the expression of dCBP antisense RNAs can suppress CI transactivation in Kc cells. Taken together, our data suggest that dCBP function is necessary forci-mediated transactivation of wg duringDrosophila embryogenesis.


2005 ◽  
Vol 25 (9) ◽  
pp. 3461-3474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongfang Qiu ◽  
Cuihua Hu ◽  
Fan Zhang ◽  
Gwo Jiunn Hwang ◽  
Mark J. Swanson ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Transcriptional activation by Gcn4p is enhanced by the coactivators SWI/SNF, SAGA, and Srb mediator, which stimulate recruitment of TATA binding protein (TBP) and polymerase II to target promoters. We show that wild-type recruitment of SAGA by Gcn4p is dependent on mediator but independent of SWI/SNF function at three different promoters. Recruitment of mediator is also independent of SWI/SNF but is enhanced by SAGA at a subset of Gcn4p target genes. Recruitment of all three coactivators to ARG1 is independent of the TATA element and preinitiation complex formation, whereas efficient recruitment of the general transcription factors requires the TATA box. We propose an activation pathway involving interdependent recruitment of SAGA and Srb mediator to the upstream activation sequence, enabling SWI/SNF recruitment and the binding of TBP and other general factors to the promoter. We also found that high-level recruitment of Tra1p and other SAGA subunits is independent of the Ada2p/Ada3p/Gcn5p histone acetyltransferase module but requires Spt3p in addition to subunits required for SAGA integrity. Thus, while Tra1p can bind directly to Gcn4p in vitro, it requires other SAGA subunits for efficient recruitment in vivo.


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