scholarly journals Temperature-dependent regulation of a heterologous transcriptional activation domain fused to yeast heat shock transcription factor.

1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 1021-1030 ◽  
Author(s):  
J J Bonner ◽  
S Heyward ◽  
D L Fackenthal

The heat shock transcription factor (HSF) of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is posttranslationally modified. At low growth temperatures, it activates transcription of heat shock genes only poorly; after shift to high temperatures, it activates transcription readily. In an effort to elucidate the mechanism of this regulation, we constructed a series of HSF-VP16 fusions that join the HSF DNA-binding domain to the strong transcriptional activation domain from the VP16 gene of herpes simplex virus. Replacement of the endogenous C-terminal transcriptional activation domain with that of VP16 generates an HSF derivative that exhibits behavior reminiscent of HSF itself: low transcriptional activation activity at normal growth temperature and high activity after heat shock. HSF can thus restrain the activity of the heterologous VP16 transcriptional activation domain. To determine what is required for repression of activity at low temperature, we deleted portions of HSF from this HSF-VP16 fusion to map the regulatory domain. We also isolated point mutations that convert the HSF-VP16 fusion into a constitutive transcriptional activator. We conclude that the central, evolutionarily conserved domain of HSF, encompassing the DNA-binding and multimerization domains, contains a major determinant of temperature-dependent regulation.

1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 1021-1030
Author(s):  
J J Bonner ◽  
S Heyward ◽  
D L Fackenthal

The heat shock transcription factor (HSF) of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is posttranslationally modified. At low growth temperatures, it activates transcription of heat shock genes only poorly; after shift to high temperatures, it activates transcription readily. In an effort to elucidate the mechanism of this regulation, we constructed a series of HSF-VP16 fusions that join the HSF DNA-binding domain to the strong transcriptional activation domain from the VP16 gene of herpes simplex virus. Replacement of the endogenous C-terminal transcriptional activation domain with that of VP16 generates an HSF derivative that exhibits behavior reminiscent of HSF itself: low transcriptional activation activity at normal growth temperature and high activity after heat shock. HSF can thus restrain the activity of the heterologous VP16 transcriptional activation domain. To determine what is required for repression of activity at low temperature, we deleted portions of HSF from this HSF-VP16 fusion to map the regulatory domain. We also isolated point mutations that convert the HSF-VP16 fusion into a constitutive transcriptional activator. We conclude that the central, evolutionarily conserved domain of HSF, encompassing the DNA-binding and multimerization domains, contains a major determinant of temperature-dependent regulation.


1995 ◽  
Vol 15 (8) ◽  
pp. 4319-4330 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Zuo ◽  
D Rungger ◽  
R Voellmy

Upon heat stress, monomeric human heat shock transcription factor 1 (hHSF1) is converted to a trimer, acquires DNA-binding ability, is transported to the nucleus, and becomes transcriptionally competent. It was not known previously whether these regulatory changes are caused by a single activation event or whether they occur independently from one another, providing a multilayered control that may prevent inadvertant activation of hHSF1. Comparison of wild-type and mutant hHSF1 expressed in Xenopus oocytes and human HeLa cells suggested that retention of hHSF1 in the monomeric form depends on hydrophobic repeats (LZ1 to LZ3) and a carboxy-terminal sequence element in hHSF1 as well as on the presence of a titratable factor in the cell. Oligomerization of hHSF1 appears to induce DNA-binding activity as well as to uncover an amino-terminally located nuclear localization signal. A mechanism distinct from that controlling oligomerization regulates the transcriptional competence of hHSF1. Components of this mechanism were mapped to a region, including LZ2 and nearby sequences downstream from LZ2, that is clearly separated from the carboxy-terminally located transcription activation domain(s). We propose the existence of a fold-back structure that masks the transcription activation domain in the unstressed cell but is opened up by modification of hHSF1 and/or binding of a factor facilitating hHSF1 unfolding in the stressed cell. Activation of hHSF1 appears to involve at least two independently regulated structural transitions.


1999 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 402-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin A. Morano ◽  
Nicholas Santoro ◽  
Keith A. Koch ◽  
Dennis J. Thiele

ABSTRACT Gene expression in response to heat shock is mediated by the heat shock transcription factor (HSF), which in yeast harbors both amino- and carboxyl-terminal transcriptional activation domains. Yeast cells bearing a truncated form of HSF in which the carboxyl-terminal transcriptional activation domain has been deleted [HSF(1-583)] are temperature sensitive for growth at 37°C, demonstrating a requirement for this domain for sustained viability during thermal stress. Here we demonstrate that HSF(1-583) cells undergo reversible cell cycle arrest at 37°C in the G2/M phase of the cell cycle and exhibit marked reduction in levels of the molecular chaperone Hsp90. As in higher eukaryotes, yeast possesses two nearly identical isoforms of Hsp90: one constitutively expressed and one highly heat inducible. When expressed at physiological levels in HSF(1-583) cells, the inducible Hsp90 isoform encoded by HSP82 more efficiently suppressed the temperature sensitivity of this strain than the constitutively expressed gene HSC82, suggesting that different functional roles may exist for these chaperones. Consistent with a defect in Hsp90 production, HSF(1-583) cells also exhibited hypersensitivity to the Hsp90-binding ansamycin antibiotic geldanamycin. Depletion of Hsp90 from yeast cells wild type for HSF results in cell cycle arrest in both G1/S and G2/M phases, suggesting a complex requirement for chaperone function in mitotic division during stress.


2000 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1753-1764 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sengyong Lee ◽  
Tage Carlson ◽  
Noah Christian ◽  
Kristi Lea ◽  
Jennifer Kedzie ◽  
...  

In vitro DNA-binding assays demonstrate that the heat shock transcription factor (HSF) from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae can adopt an altered conformation when stressed. This conformation, reflected in a change in electrophoretic mobility, requires that two HSF trimers be bound to DNA. Single trimers do not show this change, which appears to represent an alteration in the cooperative interactions between trimers. HSF isolated from stressed cells displays a higher propensity to adopt this altered conformation. Purified HSF can be stimulated in vitro to undergo the conformational change by elevating the temperature or by exposing HSF to superoxide anion. Mutational analysis maps a region critical for this conformational change to the flexible loop between the minimal DNA-binding domain and the flexible linker that joins the DNA-binding domain to the trimerization domain. The significance of these findings is discussed in the context of the induction of the heat shock response by ischemic stroke, hypoxia, and recovery from anoxia, all known to stimulate the production of superoxide.


1995 ◽  
Vol 15 (8) ◽  
pp. 4309-4318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y Shi ◽  
P E Kroeger ◽  
R I Morimoto

We have characterized a stress-responsive transcriptional activation domain of mouse heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) by using chimeric GAL4-HSF1 fusion proteins. Fusion of the GAL4 DNA-binding domain to residues 124 to 503 of HSF1 results in a chimeric factor that binds DNA yet lacks any transcriptional activity. Transactivation is acquired upon exposure to heat shock or by deletion of a negative regulatory domain including part of the DNA-binding-domain-proximal leucine zippers. Analysis of a collection of GAL4-HSF1 deletion mutants revealed the minimal region for the constitutive transcriptional activator to map within the extreme carboxyl-terminal 108 amino acids, corresponding to a region rich in acidic and hydrophobic residues. Loss of residues 395 to 425 or 451 to 503, which are located at either end of this activation domain, severely diminished activity, indicating that the entire domain is required for transactivation. The minimal activation domain of HSF1 also confers enhanced transcriptional response to heat shock or cadmium treatment. These results demonstrate that the transcriptional activation domain of HSF1 is negatively regulated and that the signal for stress induction is mediated by interactions between the amino-terminal negative regulator and the carboxyl-terminal transcriptional activation domain.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda O Veri ◽  
Nicole Robbins ◽  
Leah E Cowen

Abstract The impact of fungal pathogens on human health is devastating. For fungi and other pathogens, a key determinant of virulence is the capacity to thrive at host temperatures, with elevated temperature in the form of fever as a ubiquitous host response to defend against infection. A prominent feature of cells experiencing heat stress is the increased expression of heat shock proteins (Hsps) that play pivotal roles in the refolding of misfolded proteins in order to restore cellular homeostasis. Transcriptional activation of this heat shock response is orchestrated by the essential heat shock transcription factor, Hsf1. Although the influence of Hsf1 on cellular stress responses has been studied for decades, many aspects of its regulation and function remain largely enigmatic. In this review, we highlight our current understanding of how Hsf1 is regulated and activated in the model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and highlight exciting recent discoveries related to its diverse functions under both basal and stress conditions. Given that thermal adaption is a fundamental requirement for growth and virulence in fungal pathogens, we also compare and contrast Hsf1 activation and function in other fungal species with an emphasis on its role as a critical regulator of virulence traits.


1994 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 7557-7568 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Zuo ◽  
R Baler ◽  
G Dahl ◽  
R Voellmy

Heat stress regulation of human heat shock genes is mediated by human heat shock transcription factor hHSF1, which contains three 4-3 hydrophobic repeats (LZ1 to LZ3). In unstressed human cells (37 degrees C), hHSF1 appears to be in an inactive, monomeric state that may be maintained through intramolecular interactions stabilized by transient interaction with hsp70. Heat stress (39 to 42 degrees C) disrupts these interactions, and hHSF1 homotrimerizes and acquires heat shock element DNA-binding ability. hHSF1 expressed in Xenopus oocytes also assumes a monomeric, non-DNA-binding state and is converted to a trimeric, DNA-binding form upon exposure of the oocytes to heat shock (35 to 37 degrees C in this organism). Because endogenous HSF DNA-binding activity is low and anti-hHSF1 antibody does not recognize Xenopus HSF, we employed this system for mapping regions in hHSF1 that are required for the maintenance of the monomeric state. The results of mutagenesis analyses strongly suggest that the inactive hHSF1 monomer is stabilized by hydrophobic interactions involving all three leucine zippers which may form a triple-stranded coiled coil. Trimerization may enable the DNA-binding function of hHSF1 by facilitating cooperative binding of monomeric DNA-binding domains to the heat shock element motif. This view is supported by observations that several different LexA DNA-binding domain-hHSF1 chimeras bind to a LexA-binding site in a heat-regulated fashion, that single amino acid replacements disrupting the integrity of hydrophobic repeats render these chimeras constitutively trimeric and DNA binding, and that LexA itself binds stably to DNA only as a dimer but not as a monomer in our assays.


1994 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. 6056-6067
Author(s):  
M Tanaka ◽  
W Herr

The POU domain activator Oct-2 contains an N-terminal glutamine-rich transcriptional activation domain. An 18-amino-acid segment (Q18III) from this region reconstituted a fully functional activation domain when tandemly reiterated and fused to either the Oct-2 or GAL4 DNA-binding domain. A minimal transcriptional activation domain likely requires three tandem Q18III segments, because one or two tandem Q18III segments displayed little activity, whereas three to five tandem segments were active and displayed increasing activity with increasing copy number. As with natural Oct-2 activation domains, in our assay a reiterated activation domain required a second homologous or heterologous activation domain to stimulate transcription effectively when fused to the Oct-2 POU domain. These results suggest that there are different levels of synergy within and among activation domains. Analysis of reiterated activation domains containing mutated Q18III segments revealed that leucines and glutamines, but not serines or threonines, are critical for activity in vivo. Curiously, several reiterated activation domains that were inactive in vivo were active in vitro, suggesting that there are significant functional differences in our in vivo and in vitro assays. Reiteration of a second 18-amino-acid segment from the Oct-2 glutamine-rich activation domain (Q18II) was also active, but its activity was DNA-binding domain specific, because it was active when fused to the GAL4 than to the Oct-2 DNA-binding domain. The ability of separate short peptide segments derived from a single transcriptional activation domain to activate transcription after tandem reiteration emphasizes the flexible and modular nature of a transcriptional activation domain.


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