scholarly journals Assembly of a Functional Beta Interferon Enhanceosome Is Dependent on ATF-2–c-jun Heterodimer Orientation

2000 ◽  
Vol 20 (13) ◽  
pp. 4814-4825 ◽  
Author(s):  
James V. Falvo ◽  
Bhavin S. Parekh ◽  
Charles H. Lin ◽  
Ernest Fraenkel ◽  
Tom Maniatis

ABSTRACT Heterodimeric transcription factors, including the basic region-leucine zipper (bZIP) protein ATF-2–c-jun, are well-characterized components of an enhanceosome that mediates virus induction of the human beta interferon (IFN-β) gene. Here we report that within the IFN-β enhanceosome the ATF-2–c-jun heterodimer binds in a specific orientation, which is required for assembly of a complex between ATF-2–c-jun and interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF-3). We demonstrate that correct orientation of the ATF-2–c-jun binding site is required for virus induction of the IFN-β gene and for IRF-3-dependent activation of a composite ATF-2– c-jun–IRF site in the IFN-β promoter. We also show that in vitro the DNA-bound ATF-2–c-jun heterodimer adopts a fixed orientation upon the binding of IRF-3 at an adjacent site in the IFN-β enhancer and that the DNA-binding domain of IRF-3 is sufficient to mediate this effect. In addition, we show that the DNA-binding domain of ATF-2 is necessary and sufficient for selective protein-protein interactions with IRF-3. Strikingly, in vivo chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments with IFN-β reporter constructs reveal that recruitment of IRF-3 to the IFN-β promoter upon virus infection is dependent on the orientation of the ATF-2–c-jun heterodimer binding site. These observations demonstrate functional and physical cooperativity between the bZIP and IRF transcription factor families and illustrate the critical role of heterodimeric transcription factors in formation of the IFN-β enhanceosome.

2003 ◽  
Vol 374 (2) ◽  
pp. 423-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher D. DEPPMANN ◽  
Tina M. THORNTON ◽  
Fransiscus E. UTAMA ◽  
Elizabeth J. TAPAROWSKY

BATF is a member of the AP-1 (activator protein-1) family of bZIP (basic leucine zipper) transcription factors that form transcriptionally inhibitory, DNA binding heterodimers with Jun proteins. In the present study, we demonstrate that BATF is phosphorylated in vivo on multiple serine and threonine residues and at least one tyrosine residue. Reverse-polarity PAGE revealed that serine-43 and threonine-48 within the DNA binding domain of BATF are phosphorylated. To model phosphorylation of the BATF DNA binding domain, serine-43 was replaced by an aspartate residue. BATF(S43D) retains the ability to dimerize with Jun proteins in vitro and in vivo, and the BATF(S43D):Jun heterodimer localizes properly to the nucleus of cells. Interestingly, BATF(S43D) functions like wild-type BATF to reduce AP-1-mediated gene transcription, despite the observed inability of the BATF(S43D):Jun heterodimer to bind DNA. These data demonstrate that phosphorylation of serine-43 converts BATF from a DNA binding into a non-DNA binding inhibitor of AP-1 activity. Given that 40% of mammalian bZIP transcription factors contain a residue analogous to serine-43 of BATF in their DNA binding domains, the phosphorylation event described here represents a mechanism that is potentially applicable to the regulation of many bZIP proteins.


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.


2004 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 2091-2102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao Wei ◽  
Carolyn M. Price

ABSTRACT Pot1 is a single-stranded-DNA-binding protein that recognizes telomeric G-strand DNA. It is essential for telomere capping in Saccharomyces pombe and regulates telomere length in humans. Human Pot1 also interacts with proteins that bind the duplex region of the telomeric tract. Thus, like Cdc13 from S. cerevisiae, Pot 1 may have multiple roles at the telomere. We show here that endogenous chicken Pot1 (cPot1) is present at telomeres during periods of the cell cycle when t loops are thought to be present. Since cPot1 can bind internal loops and directly adjacent DNA-binding sites, it is likely to fully coat and protect both G-strand overhangs and the displaced G strand of a t loop. The minimum binding site of cPot1 is double that of the S. pombe DNA-binding domain. Although cPot can self associate, dimerization is not required for DNA binding and hence does not explain the binding-site duplication. Instead, the DNA-binding domain appears to be extended to contain a second binding motif in addition to the conserved oligonucleotide-oligosaccharide (OB) fold present in other G-strand-binding proteins. This second motif could be another OB fold. Although dimerization is inefficient in vitro, it may be regulated in vivo and could promote association with other telomere proteins and/or telomere compaction.


2015 ◽  
Vol 71 (8) ◽  
pp. 1768-1776 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaojiao Fan ◽  
Xu Zhang ◽  
Yuwei Zhu ◽  
Liwen Niu ◽  
Maikun Teng ◽  
...  

The SaeR/S two-component regulatory system is essential for controlling the expression of many virulence factors inStaphylococcus aureus. SaeR, a member of the OmpR/PhoB family, is a response regulator with an N-terminal regulatory domain and a C-terminal DNA-binding domain. In order to elucidate how SaeR binds to the promoter regions of target genes, the crystal structure of the DNA-binding domain of SaeR (SaeRDBD) was solved at 2.5 Å resolution. The structure reveals that SaeRDBDexists as a monomer and has the canonical winged helix–turn–helix module. EMSA experiments suggested that full-length SaeR can bind to the P1 promoter and that the binding affinity is higher than that of its C-terminal DNA-binding domain. Five key residues on the winged helix–turn–helix module were verified to be important for binding to the P1 promoterin vitroand for the physiological function of SaeRin vivo.


2006 ◽  
Vol 188 (14) ◽  
pp. 5167-5176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah R. Yoder-Himes ◽  
Lee Kroos

ABSTRACT The bacterium Myxococcus xanthus employs extracellular signals to coordinate aggregation and sporulation during multicellular development. Extracellular, contact-dependent signaling that involves the CsgA protein (called C-signaling) activates FruA, a putative response regulator that governs a branched signaling pathway inside cells. One branch regulates cell movement, leading to aggregation. The other branch regulates gene expression, leading to sporulation. C-signaling is required for full expression of most genes induced after 6 h into development, including the gene identified by Tn5 lac insertion Ω4400. To determine if FruA is a direct regulator of Ω4400 transcription, a combination of in vivo and in vitro experiments was performed. Ω4400 expression was abolished in a fruA mutant. The DNA-binding domain of FruA bound specifically to DNA upstream of the promoter −35 region in vitro. Mutations between bp −86 and −77 greatly reduced binding. One of these mutations had been shown previously to reduce Ω4400 expression in vivo and make it independent of C-signaling. For the first time, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) experiments were performed on M. xanthus. The ChIP experiments demonstrated that FruA is associated with the Ω4400 promoter region late in development, even in the absence of C-signaling. Based on these results, we propose that FruA directly activates Ω4400 transcription to a moderate level prior to C-signaling and, in response to C-signaling, binds near bp −80 and activates transcription to a higher level. Also, the highly localized effects of mutations between bp −86 and −77 on DNA binding in vitro, together with recently published footprints, allow us to predict a consensus binding site of GTCG/CGA/G for the FruA DNA-binding domain.


2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. e1002906 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clinton R. Paden ◽  
J. Craig Forrest ◽  
Scott A. Tibbetts ◽  
Samuel H. Speck

1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3782-3791 ◽  
Author(s):  
T K Kerppola ◽  
D Luk ◽  
T Curran

Several regulatory interactions between the AP-1 and the nuclear hormone receptor families of transcription factors have been reported. However, the molecular mechanisms that underlie these interactions remain unknown, and models derived from transient-transfection experiments are contradictory. We have investigated the effect of the purified glucocorticoid receptor (GR) DNA-binding domain (GR residues 440 to 533 [GR440-533]) on DNA binding and transcription activation by Fos-Jun heterodimers and Jun homodimers. GR440-533 differentially inhibited DNA binding and transcription activation by Fos-Jun heterodimers. Inhibition of Jun homodimers required a 10-fold-higher concentration of GR440-533. An excess of Fos monomers protected Fos-Jun heterodimers from inhibition by GR440-533. Surprisingly, regions outside the leucine zipper and basic region were required for GR inhibition of Fos and Jun DNA binding. The region of GR440-533 required for inhibition of Fos-Jun DNA binding was localized to the zinc finger DNA-binding domain. However, inhibition of Fos-Jun DNA binding was independent of DNA binding by GR440-533. GR440-533 also differentially inhibited Fos-Jun heterodimer binding to the proliferin plfG element. Differential inhibition of DNA binding by different AP-1 family complexes provides a potential mechanism for the diverse interactions between nuclear hormone receptors and AP-1 family proteins at different promoters and in different cell types.


2007 ◽  
Vol 189 (14) ◽  
pp. 4984-4993 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason R. Wickstrum ◽  
Jeff M. Skredenske ◽  
Ana Kolin ◽  
Ding J. Jin ◽  
Jianwen Fang ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The Escherichia coli l-rhamnose-responsive transcription activators RhaS and RhaR both consist of two domains, a C-terminal DNA-binding domain and an N-terminal dimerization domain. Both function as dimers and only activate transcription in the presence of l-rhamnose. Here, we examined the ability of the DNA-binding domains of RhaS (RhaS-CTD) and RhaR (RhaR-CTD) to bind to DNA and activate transcription. RhaS-CTD and RhaR-CTD were both shown by DNase I footprinting to be capable of binding specifically to the appropriate DNA sites. In vivo as well as in vitro transcription assays showed that RhaS-CTD could activate transcription to high levels, whereas RhaR-CTD was capable of only very low levels of transcription activation. As expected, RhaS-CTD did not require the presence of l-rhamnose to activate transcription. The upstream half-site at rhaBAD and the downstream half-site at rhaT were found to be the strongest of the known RhaS half-sites, and a new putative RhaS half-site with comparable strength to known sites was identified. Given that cyclic AMP receptor protein (CRP), the second activator required for full rhaBAD expression, cannot activate rhaBAD expression in a ΔrhaS strain, it was of interest to test whether CRP could activate transcription in combination with RhaS-CTD. We found that RhaS-CTD allowed significant activation by CRP, both in vivo and in vitro, although full-length RhaS allowed somewhat greater CRP activation. We conclude that RhaS-CTD contains all of the determinants necessary for transcription activation by RhaS.


2001 ◽  
Vol 82 (10) ◽  
pp. 2341-2351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly J. Woytek ◽  
Dhandapani Rangasamy ◽  
Cynthia Bazaldua-Hernandez ◽  
Mike West ◽  
Van G. Wilson

The interaction between papillomavirus E1 and E2 proteins is essential for viral genome replication. Using both in vivo and in vitro assays to evaluate the regions of the two proteins necessary for the E1–E2 interaction, three independent interactions were identified for bovine papillomavirus E1: the N terminus of E1 (E1N, residues 1–311) interacts with the E2 transactivation domain (E2TAD) and the E2 DNA-binding domain (E2DBD) and the C terminus of E1 (E1C, residues 315–605) interacts with E2. Nine mutations within E1N were evaluated for their effects on E2 interaction. Five mutations eliminated interaction with the E2TAD; four of these were located within two previously identified conserved, hydrophilic regions, HR1 and HR3. Since HR1 and HR3 residues appear to comprise the origin of replication recognition element for E1, simultaneous interaction with the E2TAD during initiation complex formation would seem unlikely. Consistent with this inference is the fact that three of the five mutants defective for E2TAD binding exhibited wild-type levels of replication. The replication-positive phenotype of these mutants suggests that the E1N–E2TAD interaction is not essential for replication function and is probably involved in some other E1–E2 function, such as regulating transcription. Only one of the five mutations defective for E2TAD binding also prevented E2DBD interaction, indicating that the regions of E1N that interact with the E2TAD and the E2DBD are not identical. The ability of E1N to cooperatively interact with E2 bound to E2-binding site (E2BS) 11 versus E2BS12 was also examined, and cooperative binding was only observed when E2 was bound to E2BS12.


1998 ◽  
Vol 180 (16) ◽  
pp. 4227-4232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatrice Saviola ◽  
Robert R. Seabold ◽  
Robert F. Schleif

ABSTRACT We sought a mutation in the DNA binding domain of the arabinose operon regulatory protein, AraC, of Escherichia coli that allows the protein to bind DNA normally but not activate transcription. The mutation was isolated by mutagenizing a plasmid overproducing a chimeric leucine zipper-AraC DNA binding domain and screening for proteins that were trans dominant negative with regard to wild-type AraC protein. The mutant with the lowest transcription activation of the araBAD promoter was studied further. It proved to alter a residue that had previously been demonstrated to contact DNA. Because the overproduced mutant protein still bound DNA in vivo, it is deficient in transcription activation for some reason other than absence of DNA binding. Using the phase-sensitive DNA bending assay, we found that wild-type AraC bends DNA about 90° whereas the mutant bends DNA by a smaller amount.


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