scholarly journals Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein K is a transcription factor.

1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 2350-2360 ◽  
Author(s):  
E F Michelotti ◽  
G A Michelotti ◽  
A I Aronsohn ◽  
D Levens

The CT element is a positively acting homopyrimidine tract upstream of the c-myc gene to which the well-characterized transcription factor Spl and heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP) K, a less well-characterized protein associated with hnRNP complexes, have previously been shown to bind. The present work demonstrates that both of these molecules contribute to CT element-activated transcription in vitro. The pyrimidine-rich strand of the CT element both bound to hnRNP K and competitively inhibited transcription in vitro, suggesting a role for hnRNP K in activating transcription through this single-stranded sequence. Direct addition of recombinant hnRNP K to reaction mixtures programmed with templates bearing single-stranded CT elements increased specific RNA synthesis. If hnRNP K is a transcription factor, then interactions with the RNA polymerase II transcription apparatus are predicted. Affinity columns charged with recombinant hnRNP K specifically bind a component(s) necessary for transcription activation. The depleted factors were biochemically complemented by a crude TFIID phosphocellulose fraction, indicating that hnRNP K might interact with the TATA-binding protein (TBP)-TBP-associated factor complex. Coimmunoprecipitation of a complex formed in vivo between hnRNP K and epitope-tagged TBP as well as binding in vitro between recombinant proteins demonstrated a protein-protein interaction between TBP and hnRNP K. Furthermore, when the two proteins were overexpressed in vivo, transcription from a CT element-dependent reporter was synergistically activated. These data indicate that hnRNP K binds to a specific cis element, interacts with the RNA polymerase II transcription machinery, and stimulates transcription and thus has all of the properties of a transcription factor.

1989 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 4746-4749 ◽  
Author(s):  
D I Chasman ◽  
J Leatherwood ◽  
M Carey ◽  
M Ptashne ◽  
R D Kornberg

Fusion proteins known to activate transcription in vivo were tested for the ability to stimulate transcription in vitro in a recently developed Saccharomyces cerevisiae RNA polymerase II transcription system. One fusion protein, whose activation domain was derived from the herpesvirus transcriptional activator VP16, gave more than 100-fold stimulation in the in vitro system. The order of effects of the various proteins was the same for transcription in vitro and in vivo, suggesting that the natural mechanism of activation is preserved in vitro.


1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-37
Author(s):  
M T Killeen ◽  
J F Greenblatt

RAP30/74 is a human general transcription factor that binds to RNA polymerase II and is required for initiation of transcription in vitro regardless of whether the promoter has a recognizable TATA box (Z. F. Burton, M. Killeen, M. Sopta, L. G. Ortolan, and J. F. Greenblatt, Mol. Cell. Biol. 8:1602-1613, 1988). Part of the amino acid sequence of RAP30, the small subunit of RAP30/74, has limited homology with part of Escherichia coli sigma 70 (M. Sopta, Z. F. Burton, and J. Greenblatt, Nature (London) 341:410-414, 1989). To determine which sigmalike activities of RAP30/74 could be attributed to RAP30, we purified human RAP30 and a RAP30-glutathione-S-transferase fusion protein that had been produced in E. coli. Bacterially produced RAP30 bound to RNA polymerase II in the absence of RAP74. Both partially purified natural RAP30/74 and recombinant RAP30 prevented RNA polymerase II from binding nonspecifically to DNA. In addition, nonspecific transcription by RNA polymerase II was greatly inhibited by RAP30-glutathione-S-transferase. DNA-bound RNA polymerase II could be removed from DNA by partially purified RAP30/74 but not by bacterially expressed RAP30. Thus, the ability of RAP30/74 to recruit RNA polymerase II to a promoter-bound preinitiation complex may be an indirect consequence of its ability to suppress nonspecific binding of RNA polymerase II to DNA.


Author(s):  
Neal F. Lue ◽  
Peter M. Flanagan ◽  
Raymond J. Kelleher ◽  
Aled M. Edwards ◽  
Roger D. Kornberg

1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1639-1651 ◽  
Author(s):  
S C Batson ◽  
R Sundseth ◽  
C V Heath ◽  
M Samuels ◽  
U Hansen

We have studied the initiation of transcription in vitro by RNA polymerase II on simian virus 40 (SV40) minichromosomal templates isolated from infected cells. The efficiency and pattern of transcription from the chromatin templates were compared with those from viral DNA templates by using two in vitro transcription systems, either HeLa whole-cell extract or basal transcription factors, RNA polymerase II, and one of two SV40 promoter-binding transcription factors, LSF and Sp1. Dramatic increases in numbers of transcripts upon addition of transcription extract and different patterns of usage of the multiple SV40 initiation sites upon addition of Sp1 versus LSF strongly suggested that transcripts were being initiated from the minichromosomal templates in vitro. That the majority of transcripts from the minichromosomes were due to initiation de novo was demonstrated by the efficient transcription observed in the presence of alpha-amanitin, which inhibited minichromosome-associated RNA polymerase II, and an alpha-amanitin-resistant RNA polymerase II, which initiated transcription in vitro. The pattern of transcription from the SV40 late and early promoters on the minichromosomal templates was similar to the in vivo pattern of transcription during the late stages of viral infection and was distinct from the pattern of transcription generated from viral DNA in vitro. In particular, the late promoter of the minichromosomal templates was transcribed with high efficiency, similar to viral DNA templates, while the early-early promoter of the minichromosomal templates was inhibited 10- to 15-fold. Finally, the number of minichromosomes competent to initiate transcription in vitro exceeded the amount actively being transcribed in vivo.


2006 ◽  
Vol 400 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan D. Griffin ◽  
Paul N. Moynagh

Despite certain structural and biochemical similarities, differences exist in the function of the NF-κB (nuclear factor κB) inhibitory proteins IκBα (inhibitory κBα) and IκBβ. The functional disparity arises in part from variance at the level of gene regulation, and in particular from the substantial induction of IκBα, but not IκBβ, gene expression post-NF-κB activation. In the present study, we probe the differential effects of IL (interleukin)-1β on induction of IκBα and perform the first characterization of the human IκBβ promoter. A consensus NF-κB-binding site, capable of binding NF-κB both in vitro and in vivo, is found in the IκBβ gene 5′ flanking region. However, the IκBβ promoter was not substantially activated by pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-1β and tumour necrosis factor α, that are known to cause strong activation of NF-κB. Furthermore, in contrast with IκBα, NF-κB activation did not increase expression of endogenous IκBβ as assessed by analysis of mRNA and protein levels. Unlike κB-responsive promoters, IκBβ promoter-bound p65 inefficiently recruits RNA polymerase II, which stalls at the promoter. We present evidence that this stalling is likely due to the absence of transcription factor IIH engagement, a prerequisite for RNA polymerase II phosphorylation and transcriptional initiation. Differences in the conformation of promoter-bound NF-κB may underlie the variation in the ability to engage the basal transcriptional apparatus at the IκBβ and κB-responsive promoters. This accounts for the differential expression of IκB family members in response to NF-κB activation and furthers our understanding of the mechanisms involved in transcription factor activity and IκBβ gene regulation.


1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4572-4577 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y Jiang ◽  
J D Gralla

RNA polymerase II transcription is influenced both by how rapidly a gene is induced and by the rate at which continuous reinitiation occurs after induction. We show here that in vitro the rates of these two critical steps need not be the same. For activator GAL-AH-dependent HeLa transcription, the rate of assembling a preinitiation complex is significantly slower than the rate of reinitiation. Although reinitiation is rapid, it still requires ATP hydrolysis. This unexpected uncoupling of the rates of initiation and reinitiation implies that in regulating mammalian promoter activity, one must consider separately the controls on initiation during induction and the controls on the subsequent reinitiation events.


1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
M T Killeen ◽  
J F Greenblatt

RAP30/74 is a human general transcription factor that binds to RNA polymerase II and is required for initiation of transcription in vitro regardless of whether the promoter has a recognizable TATA box (Z. F. Burton, M. Killeen, M. Sopta, L. G. Ortolan, and J. F. Greenblatt, Mol. Cell. Biol. 8:1602-1613, 1988). Part of the amino acid sequence of RAP30, the small subunit of RAP30/74, has limited homology with part of Escherichia coli sigma 70 (M. Sopta, Z. F. Burton, and J. Greenblatt, Nature (London) 341:410-414, 1989). To determine which sigmalike activities of RAP30/74 could be attributed to RAP30, we purified human RAP30 and a RAP30-glutathione-S-transferase fusion protein that had been produced in E. coli. Bacterially produced RAP30 bound to RNA polymerase II in the absence of RAP74. Both partially purified natural RAP30/74 and recombinant RAP30 prevented RNA polymerase II from binding nonspecifically to DNA. In addition, nonspecific transcription by RNA polymerase II was greatly inhibited by RAP30-glutathione-S-transferase. DNA-bound RNA polymerase II could be removed from DNA by partially purified RAP30/74 but not by bacterially expressed RAP30. Thus, the ability of RAP30/74 to recruit RNA polymerase II to a promoter-bound preinitiation complex may be an indirect consequence of its ability to suppress nonspecific binding of RNA polymerase II to DNA.


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