scholarly journals Subunit composition determines E2F DNA-binding site specificity.

1997 ◽  
Vol 17 (12) ◽  
pp. 6994-7007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y Tao ◽  
R F Kassatly ◽  
W D Cress ◽  
J M Horowitz

The product of the retinoblastoma (Rb) susceptibility gene, Rb-1, regulates the activity of a wide variety of transcription factors, such as E2F, in a cell cycle-dependent fashion. E2F is a heterodimeric transcription factor composed of two subunits each encoded by one of two related gene families, denoted E2F and DP. Five E2F genes, E2F-1 through E2F-5, and two DP genes, DP-1 and DP-2, have been isolated from mammals, and heterodimeric complexes of these proteins are expressed in most, if not all, vertebrate cells. It is not yet clear whether E2F/DP complexes regulate overlapping and/or specific cellular genes. Moreover, little is known about whether Rb regulates all or a subset of E2F-dependent genes. Using recombinant E2F, DP, and Rb proteins prepared in baculovirus-infected cells and a repetitive immunoprecipitation-PCR procedure (CASTing), we have identified consensus DNA-binding sites for E2F-1/DP-1, E2F-1/DP-2, E2F-4/DP-1, and E2F-4/DP-2 complexes as well as an Rb/E2F-1/DP-1 trimeric complex. Our data indicate that (i) E2F, DP, and Rb proteins each influence the selection of E2F-binding sites; (ii) E2F sites differ with respect to their intrinsic DNA-bending properties; (iii) E2F/DP complexes induce distinct degrees of DNA bending; and (iv) complex-specific E2F sites selected in vitro function distinctly as regulators of cell cycle-dependent transcription in vivo. These data indicate that the specific sequence of an E2F site may determine its role in transcriptional regulation and suggest that Rb/E2F complexes may regulate subsets of E2F-dependent cellular genes.

1994 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 6607-6615
Author(s):  
E Neuman ◽  
E K Flemington ◽  
W R Sellers ◽  
W G Kaelin

The cell cycle-regulatory transcription factor E2F-1 is regulated by interactions with proteins such as the retinoblastoma gene product and by cell cycle-dependent alterations in E2F-1 mRNA abundance. To better understand this latter phenomenon, we have isolated the human E2F-1 promoter. The human E2F-1 promoter, fused to a luciferase cDNA, gave rise to cell cycle-dependent luciferase activity upon transfection into mammalian cells in a manner which paralleled previously reported changes in E2F-1 mRNA abundance. The E2F-1 promoter contains four potential E2F-binding sites organized as two imperfect palindromes. Gel shift and transactivation studies suggested that these sites can bind to E2F in vitro and in vivo. Mutation of the two E2F palindromes abolished the cell cycle dependence of the E2F-1 promoter. Thus, E2F-1 appears to be regulated at the level of transcription, and this regulation is due, at least in part, to binding of one or more E2F family members to the E2F-1 promoter.


1994 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 6607-6615 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Neuman ◽  
E K Flemington ◽  
W R Sellers ◽  
W G Kaelin

The cell cycle-regulatory transcription factor E2F-1 is regulated by interactions with proteins such as the retinoblastoma gene product and by cell cycle-dependent alterations in E2F-1 mRNA abundance. To better understand this latter phenomenon, we have isolated the human E2F-1 promoter. The human E2F-1 promoter, fused to a luciferase cDNA, gave rise to cell cycle-dependent luciferase activity upon transfection into mammalian cells in a manner which paralleled previously reported changes in E2F-1 mRNA abundance. The E2F-1 promoter contains four potential E2F-binding sites organized as two imperfect palindromes. Gel shift and transactivation studies suggested that these sites can bind to E2F in vitro and in vivo. Mutation of the two E2F palindromes abolished the cell cycle dependence of the E2F-1 promoter. Thus, E2F-1 appears to be regulated at the level of transcription, and this regulation is due, at least in part, to binding of one or more E2F family members to the E2F-1 promoter.


Development ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 110 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Payre ◽  
S. Noselli ◽  
V. Lefrere ◽  
A. Vincent

Serendipity (sry) beta (beta) and delta (delta) are two finger protein genes resulting from a duplication event. Comparison of their respective protein products shows interspersed blocks of conserved and divergent amino-acid sequences. The most extensively conserved region corresponds to the predicted DNA-binding domain which includes 6 contiguous fingers; no significant sequence conservation is found upstream and downstream of the protein-coding region. We have analysed the evolutionary divergence of the sry beta and delta proteins on two separate levels, their embryonic pattern of expression and their DNA-binding properties in vitro and in vivo. By using specific antibodies and transformant lines containing beta-galactosidase fusion genes, we show that the sry beta and sry delta proteins are maternally inherited and present in embryonic nuclei at the onset of zygotic transcription, suggesting that they are transcription factors involved in this process. Zygotic synthesis of the sry beta protein starts during nuclear division cycles 12–13, prior to cellularisation of the blastoderm, while the zygotic sry delta protein is not detectable before germ band extension (stage 10 embryos). Contrary to sry delta, the zygotic sry beta protein constitutes only a minor fraction of the total embryonic protein. The sry beta and delta proteins made in E. coli bind to DNA, with partly overlapping specificities. Their in vivo patterns of binding to DNA, visualised by immunostaining polytene chromosomes, differ both in the number and position of their binding sites. Thus changes in expression pattern and DNA-binding specificity have contributed to the evolution of the sry beta and delta genes.


1995 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 1405-1421 ◽  
Author(s):  
C C Adams ◽  
J L Workman

To investigate mechanisms by which multiple transcription factors access complex promoters and enhancers within cellular chromatin, we have analyzed the binding of disparate factors to nucleosome cores. We used a purified in vitro system to analyze binding of four activator proteins, two GAL4 derivatives, USF, and NF-kappa B (KBF1), to reconstituted nucleosome cores containing different combinations of binding sites. Here we show that binding of any two or all three of these factors to nucleosomal DNA is inherently cooperative. Thus, the binuclear Zn clusters of GAL4, the helix-loop-helix/basic domains of USF, and the rel domain of NF-kappa B all participated in cooperative nucleosome binding, illustrating that this effect is not restricted to a particular DNA-binding domain. Simultaneous binding by two factors increased the affinity of individual factors for nucleosomal DNA by up to 2 orders of magnitude. Importantly, cooperative binding resulted in efficient nucleosome binding by factors (USF and NF-kappa B) which independently possess little nucleosome-binding ability. The participation of GAL4 derivatives in cooperative nucleosome binding required only DNA-binding and dimerization domains, indicating that disruption of histone-DNA contacts by factor binding was responsible for the increased affinity of additional factors. Cooperative nucleosome binding required sequence-specific binding of all transcription factors, appeared to have spatial constraints, and was independent of the orientation of the binding sites on the nucleosome. These results indicate that cooperative nucleosome binding is a general mechanism that may play a significant role in loading complex enhancer and promoter elements with multiple diverse factors in chromatin and contribute to the generation of threshold responses and transcriptional synergy by multiple activator sites in vivo.


2004 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 1185-1197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bidyottam Mittra ◽  
Dan S. Ray

ABSTRACT Crithidia fasciculata cycling sequence binding proteins (CSBP) have been shown to bind with high specificity to sequence elements present in several mRNAs that accumulate periodically during the cell cycle. The first described CSBP has subunits of 35.6 (CSBPA) and 42 kDa (CSBPB). A second distinct binding protein termed CSBP II has been purified from CSBPA null mutant cells, lacking both CSBPA and CSBPB proteins, and contains three major polypeptides with predicted molecular masses of 63, 44.5, and 33 kDa. Polypeptides of identical size were radiolabeled in UV cross-linking assays performed with purified CSBP II and 32P-labeled RNA probes containing six copies of the cycling sequence. The CSBP II binding activity was found to cycle in parallel with target mRNA levels during progression through the cell cycle. We have cloned genes encoding these three CSBP II proteins, termed RBP63, RBP45, and RBP33, and characterized their binding properties. The RBP63 protein is a member of the poly(A) binding protein family. Homologs of RBP45 and RBP33 proteins were found only among the kinetoplastids. Both RBP45 and RBP33 proteins and their homologs have a conserved carboxy-terminal half that contains a PSP1-like domain. All three CSBP II proteins show specificity for binding the wild-type cycling sequence in vitro. RBP45 and RBP33 are phosphoproteins, and RBP45 has been found to bind in vivo specifically to target mRNA containing cycling sequences. The levels of phosphorylation of both RBP45 and RBP33 were found to cycle during the cell cycle.


Blood ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 120 (19) ◽  
pp. 4018-4027 ◽  
Author(s):  
Constanze Breitinger ◽  
Emanuel Maethner ◽  
Maria-Paz Garcia-Cuellar ◽  
Robert K. Slany

Abstract HOX proteins are widely involved in hematopoietic development. These transcription factors combine a conserved DNA-binding homeobox with a divergent N-terminus that mediates interaction with variable cofactors. The resulting combinatorial diversity is thought to be responsible for mammalian HOX specificity. Contrasting this proposed mechanism for normal HOX function, here we demonstrate that, in the context of hematopoietic immortalization and leukemogenesis, individual HOX properties are governed almost exclusively by the homeodomain. Swap experiments between HOXA1 and HOXA9, 2 members of nonrelated paralog groups, revealed that gene expression patterns of HOX transformed cells in vitro are determined by the nature of the homeodomain. Similar results were seen in vivo during HOX-mediated leukemogenesis. An exchange of the homeodomains was sufficient to convert the slow, low-penetrance phenotype of HOXA1-induced leukemia to the aggressive fast-acting disease elicited by HOXA9 and vice versa. Mutation and deletion studies identified several subregions within the DNA binding domain responsible for paralog specificity. Previously defined binding sites for PBX cofactors within the exchangeable, nonhomeobox segment were dispensable for in vitro oncogenic HOX activity but affected in vivo disease development. The transcriptional activator domain shared by HOXA1 and HOXA9 at the very N-terminus proved essential for all transformation.


2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (16) ◽  
pp. E3692-E3701 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chaitanya Rastogi ◽  
H. Tomas Rube ◽  
Judith F. Kribelbauer ◽  
Justin Crocker ◽  
Ryan E. Loker ◽  
...  

Transcription factors (TFs) control gene expression by binding to genomic DNA in a sequence-specific manner. Mutations in TF binding sites are increasingly found to be associated with human disease, yet we currently lack robust methods to predict these sites. Here, we developed a versatile maximum likelihood framework named No Read Left Behind (NRLB) that infers a biophysical model of protein-DNA recognition across the full affinity range from a library of in vitro selected DNA binding sites. NRLB predicts human Max homodimer binding in near-perfect agreement with existing low-throughput measurements. It can capture the specificity of the p53 tetramer and distinguish multiple binding modes within a single sample. Additionally, we confirm that newly identified low-affinity enhancer binding sites are functional in vivo, and that their contribution to gene expression matches their predicted affinity. Our results establish a powerful paradigm for identifying protein binding sites and interpreting gene regulatory sequences in eukaryotic genomes.


Development ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 122 (2) ◽  
pp. 627-635 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.L. Song ◽  
G. Chalepakis ◽  
P. Gruss ◽  
A.L. Joyner

The temporally and spatially restricted expression of the mouse Engrailed (En) genes is essential for development of the midbrain and cerebellum. The regulation of En-2 expression was studied using in vitro protein-DNA binding assays and in vivo expression analysis in transgenic mice to gain insight into the genetic events that lead to regionalization of the developing brain. A minimum En-2 1.0 kb enhancer fragment was defined and found to contain multiple positive and negative regulatory elements that function in concert to establish the early embryonic mid-hindbrain expression. Furthermore, the mid-hindbrain regulatory sequences were shown to be structurally and functionally conserved in humans. The mouse paired-box-containing genes Pax-2, Pax-5 and Pax-8 show overlapping expression with the En genes in the developing brain. Significantly, two DNA-binding sites for Pax-2, Pax-5 and Pax-8 proteins were identified in the 1.0 kb En-2 regulatory sequences, and mutation of the binding sites disrupted initiation and maintenance of expression in transgenic mice. These results present strong molecular evidence that the Pax genes are direct upstream regulators of En-2 in the genetic cascade controlling mid-hindbrain development. These mouse studies, taken together with others in Drosophila and zebrafish on the role of Pax genes in controlling expression of En family members, indicate that a Pax-En genetic pathway has been conserved during evolution.


Blood ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 112 (11) ◽  
pp. 1090-1090
Author(s):  
Daniela Cilloni ◽  
Cristina Panuzzo ◽  
Francesca Messa ◽  
Francesca Arruga ◽  
Enrico Bracco ◽  
...  

Abstract The FoxO family of transcription factors is regulated by PI3K/Akt induced phosphorylation resulting in nuclear exclusion and degradation. Nuclear FoxO transcribes proapoptotic molecules and cell cycle inhibitors. In CML cells the TK activity of Bcr-Abl leads to the abnormal activation of downstream effectors including PI3K/Akt. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of FoxO3 in Bcr-Abl induced apoptotic arrest and cell growth and the effect of imatinib (IM) induced re-activation of FoxO3 activity in CML progenitor cells. BM cells were collected from 52 CML patients and 20 healthy donors. The expression level of FoxO3 was tested by RQ-PCR. The protein amount and localization was analyzed by Western blot and immunofluorescence, DNA binding activity was measured by EMSA. In addition, FoxO3 was analyzed in CML primary cells and CD34+ cells after IM incubation. Cell cycle and the expression levels of CD47, which has been demonstrated to increased during progression through the cell cycle and stem cell mobilization, was measured by FACS in CD34+ cell population. In addition K562 cells was transfected with pECE-FoxO3 to clarify FoxO3 effects on cell growth and apoptosis. Finally we used our already set up model of Drosophila melanogaster (Dm) transgenic for human Bcr-Abl to study the pathway leading to FoxO3 inactivation. We found that, despite either FoxO3 mRNA levels or protein amount are similar in CML cells compared to controls, FoxO3 protein is equally distributed in the nucleus and cytoplasm in controls but it is completely cytoplasmatic in CML cells and it enters the nucleus during in vivo IM treatment or in vitro IM incubation. Additionally, FoxO3 DNA binding activity in CML patients is completely absent at diagnosis and reappears after IM treatment. Moreover FoxO3 overexpression in transfected cells results into a 49±9 % reduction of proliferation which was further reduced of 75±5 % after IM incubation. Furthermore, we demonstrated that IM incubation results into the reactivation of FoxO3 in Ph+ CD34+ cells inducing quiescence into this population as demonstrated by the comparison of cell cycle kinetics and by a decreased expression of CD47. Finally, the progeny obtained from the crossbreeding of Bcr-Abl flies and flies transgenic for FoxO showed a rescue of FoxO phenotype demonstrating that FoxO inactivation is Bcr-Abl mediated. Overall, these in vitro and in vivo experiments suggest that FoxO3 is inactivated in CML cells and its delocalization is mainly dependant from Bcr-Abl activity. The antiproliferative activity of IM may be mediated by FoxO3 re-localization. On the other side, FoxO3 re-activation induced by IM results into a quiescence of Bcr-Abl CD34+ progenitor cells, which raises a hypothesis that FoxO3 could play a role in IM resistance. This investigation was conducted by CML Correlative Studies Network (CCSN), TOPS, which is sponsored by Novartis Oncology


2001 ◽  
Vol 21 (19) ◽  
pp. 6484-6494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurence Vandel ◽  
Estelle Nicolas ◽  
Olivier Vaute ◽  
Roger Ferreira ◽  
Slimane Ait-Si-Ali ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The E2F transcription factor controls the cell cycle-dependent expression of many S-phase-specific genes. Transcriptional repression of these genes in G0 and at the beginning of G1by the retinoblasma protein Rb is crucial for the proper control of cell proliferation. Rb has been proposed to function, at least in part, through the recruitment of histone deacetylases. However, recent results indicate that other chromatin-modifying enzymes are likely to be involved. Here, we show that Rb also interacts with a histone methyltransferase, which specifically methylates K9 of histone H3. The results of coimmunoprecipitation experiments of endogenous or transfected proteins indicate that this histone methyltransferase is the recently described heterochromatin-associated protein Suv39H1. Interestingly, phosphorylation of Rb in vitro as well as in vivo abolished the Rb-Suv39H1 interaction. We also found that Suv39H1 and Rb cooperate to repress E2F activity and that Suv39H1 could be recruited to E2F1 through its interaction with Rb. Taken together, these data indicate that Suv39H1 is involved in transcriptional repression by Rb and suggest an unexpected link between E2F regulation and heterochromatin.


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