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. 1994 Aug 11;22(15):3053–3060. doi: 10.1093/nar/22.15.3053

An adenovirus E1A transcriptional repressor domain functions as an activator when tethered to a promoter.

M Bondesson 1, M Mannervik 1, G Akusjärvi 1, C Svensson 1
PMCID: PMC310275  PMID: 8065919

Abstract

The adenovirus E1A protein contains three well conserved regions, designated conserved region (CR) 1, 2 and 3, which are important for the multiple activities ascribed to E1A. The CR3 domain constitutes a prototypic transcription activator, consisting of a promoter targeting region and a transactivating region. Here we demonstrate the existence of a second transactivating region located within amino acids 28 to 90 (essentially the CR1 domain) of the E1A protein. A fusion protein, containing the Gal4 DNA binding domain linked to CR1, was as efficient as the classical CR3 transactivator in activating transcription from a reporter plasmid containing Gal4 binding sites. However, competition experiments suggest that Gal/CR1 and Gal/CR3 work through different cellular targets. The E1A-243R protein has previously been extensively characterized as a repressor of transcription. Here we show that a Gal4 fusion protein expressing the CR1 domain is indeed sufficient for repression of SV40 enhancer activity. Collectively, our results suggest that CR1 functions as an activator if tethered to a promoter and as a repressor in the absence of promoter association.

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