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. 1996 Mar;16(3):1094–1102. doi: 10.1128/mcb.16.3.1094

Phosphorylation-dependent formation of a quaternary complex at the c-fos SRE.

H Gille 1, M Kortenjann 1, T Strahl 1, P E Shaw 1
PMCID: PMC231092  PMID: 8622654

Abstract

The rapid and transient induction of the human proto-oncogene c-fos in response to a variety of stimuli depends on the serum responses element (SRE). In vivo footprinting experiments show that this promoter element is bound by a multicomponent complex including the serum response factor (SRF) and a ternary complex factor such as Elk-1. SRF is thought to recruit a ternary complex factor monomer into an asymmetric complex. In this report, we describe a quaternary complex over the SRE which, in addition to an SRF dimer, contains two Elk-1 molecules. Its formation at the SRE is strictly dependent on phosphorylation of S-383 in the Elk-1 regulatory domain and appears to involve a weak intermolecular association between the two Elk-1 molecules. The influence of mutations in Elk-1 on quaternary complex formation in vitro correlates with their effect on the induction of c-fos reporter expression in response to mitogenic stimuli in vivo.

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Selected References

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