Skip to main content
Molecular and Cellular Biology logoLink to Molecular and Cellular Biology
. 1990 Oct;10(10):5138–5149. doi: 10.1128/mcb.10.10.5138

E4F and ATF, two transcription factors that recognize the same site, can be distinguished both physically and functionally: a role for E4F in E1A trans activation.

R J Rooney 1, P Raychaudhuri 1, J R Nevins 1
PMCID: PMC361186  PMID: 2169022

Abstract

Previous experiments have identified an element in the adenovirus E4 promoter that is critical for E1A-dependent trans activation and that can confer inducibility to a heterologous promoter. This DNA element is a recognition site for multiple nuclear factors, including ATF, which is likely a family of DNA-binding factors with similar DNA recognition properties. However, ATF activity was found not to be altered in any demonstrable way as a result of adenovirus infection. In contrast, another factor that recognizes this element, termed E4F, was found at only very low levels in uninfected cells but was increased markedly upon adenovirus infection, as measured in DNA-binding assays. Although both the ATF activity and the E4F activity recognized and bound to the same two sites in the E4 promoter, they differed in their sequence recognition of these sites. Furthermore, E4F bound only to a small subset of the ATF recognition sites; for instance, E4F did not recognize the ATF sites in the E2 or E3 promoters. Various E4F and ATF binding sites were inserted into an expression vector and tested by cotransfection assays for responsiveness to E1A. We found that a sequence capable of binding E4F could confer E1A inducibility. In contrast, a sequence that could bind ATF but not E4F did not confer E1A inducibility. We also found that E4F formed a stable complex with the E4 promoter, whereas the ATF DNA complex was unstable and rapidly dissociated. We conclude that the DNA-binding specificity of E4F as well as the alterations in DNA-binding activity of E4F closely correlates with E1A stimulation of the E4 promoter.

Full text

PDF
5138

Images in this article

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bagchi S., Raychaudhuri P., Nevins J. R. Phosphorylation-dependent activation of the adenovirus-inducible E2F transcription factor in a cell-free system. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1989 Jun;86(12):4352–4356. doi: 10.1073/pnas.86.12.4352. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Berk A. J. Adenovirus promoters and E1A transactivation. Annu Rev Genet. 1986;20:45–79. doi: 10.1146/annurev.ge.20.120186.000401. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Chodosh L. A., Carthew R. W., Sharp P. A. A single polypeptide possesses the binding and transcription activities of the adenovirus major late transcription factor. Mol Cell Biol. 1986 Dec;6(12):4723–4733. doi: 10.1128/mcb.6.12.4723. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Cortes P., Buckbinder L., Leza M. A., Rak N., Hearing P., Merino A., Reinberg D. EivF, a factor required for transcription of the adenovirus EIV promoter, binds to an element involved in EIa-dependent activation and cAMP induction. Genes Dev. 1988 Aug;2(8):975–990. doi: 10.1101/gad.2.8.975. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Ferguson B., Krippl B., Andrisani O., Jones N., Westphal H., Rosenberg M. E1A 13S and 12S mRNA products made in Escherichia coli both function as nucleus-localized transcription activators but do not directly bind DNA. Mol Cell Biol. 1985 Oct;5(10):2653–2661. doi: 10.1128/mcb.5.10.2653. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Fletcher C., Heintz N., Roeder R. G. Purification and characterization of OTF-1, a transcription factor regulating cell cycle expression of a human histone H2b gene. Cell. 1987 Dec 4;51(5):773–781. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(87)90100-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Garcia J., Wu F., Gaynor R. Upstream regulatory regions required to stabilize binding to the TATA sequence in an adenovirus early promoter. Nucleic Acids Res. 1987 Oct 26;15(20):8367–8385. doi: 10.1093/nar/15.20.8367. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Gilardi P., Perricaudet M. The E4 transcriptional unit of Ad2: far upstream sequences are required for its transactivation by E1A. Nucleic Acids Res. 1984 Oct 25;12(20):7877–7888. doi: 10.1093/nar/12.20.7877. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Gonzalez G. A., Yamamoto K. K., Fischer W. H., Karr D., Menzel P., Biggs W., 3rd, Vale W. W., Montminy M. R. A cluster of phosphorylation sites on the cyclic AMP-regulated nuclear factor CREB predicted by its sequence. Nature. 1989 Feb 23;337(6209):749–752. doi: 10.1038/337749a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Gorman C. M., Moffat L. F., Howard B. H. Recombinant genomes which express chloramphenicol acetyltransferase in mammalian cells. Mol Cell Biol. 1982 Sep;2(9):1044–1051. doi: 10.1128/mcb.2.9.1044. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Hai T. W., Liu F., Allegretto E. A., Karin M., Green M. R. A family of immunologically related transcription factors that includes multiple forms of ATF and AP-1. Genes Dev. 1988 Oct;2(10):1216–1226. doi: 10.1101/gad.2.10.1216. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Hai T. W., Liu F., Coukos W. J., Green M. R. Transcription factor ATF cDNA clones: an extensive family of leucine zipper proteins able to selectively form DNA-binding heterodimers. Genes Dev. 1989 Dec;3(12B):2083–2090. doi: 10.1101/gad.3.12b.2083. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Hardy S., Engel D. A., Shenk T. An adenovirus early region 4 gene product is required for induction of the infection-specific form of cellular E2F activity. Genes Dev. 1989 Jul;3(7):1062–1074. doi: 10.1101/gad.3.7.1062. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Hoeffler J. P., Meyer T. E., Yun Y., Jameson J. L., Habener J. F. Cyclic AMP-responsive DNA-binding protein: structure based on a cloned placental cDNA. Science. 1988 Dec 9;242(4884):1430–1433. doi: 10.1126/science.2974179. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Hoeffler W. K., Kovelman R., Roeder R. G. Activation of transcription factor IIIC by the adenovirus E1A protein. Cell. 1988 Jun 17;53(6):907–920. doi: 10.1016/s0092-8674(88)90409-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Huang M. M., Hearing P. The adenovirus early region 4 open reading frame 6/7 protein regulates the DNA binding activity of the cellular transcription factor, E2F, through a direct complex. Genes Dev. 1989 Nov;3(11):1699–1710. doi: 10.1101/gad.3.11.1699. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Hurst H. C., Jones N. C. Identification of factors that interact with the E1A-inducible adenovirus E3 promoter. Genes Dev. 1987 Dec;1(10):1132–1146. doi: 10.1101/gad.1.10.1132. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Imperiale M. J., Hart R. P., Nevins J. R. An enhancer-like element in the adenovirus E2 promoter contains sequences essential for uninduced and E1A-induced transcription. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1985 Jan;82(2):381–385. doi: 10.1073/pnas.82.2.381. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Kadonaga J. T., Tjian R. Affinity purification of sequence-specific DNA binding proteins. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1986 Aug;83(16):5889–5893. doi: 10.1073/pnas.83.16.5889. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Kovesdi I., Reichel R., Nevins J. R. Identification of a cellular transcription factor involved in E1A trans-activation. Cell. 1986 Apr 25;45(2):219–228. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(86)90386-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Kovesdi I., Reichel R., Nevins J. R. Role of an adenovirus E2 promoter binding factor in E1A-mediated coordinate gene control. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1987 Apr;84(8):2180–2184. doi: 10.1073/pnas.84.8.2180. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Landolfi N. F., Capra J. D., Tucker P. W. Interaction of cell-type-specific nuclear proteins with immunoglobulin VH promoter region sequences. Nature. 1986 Oct 9;323(6088):548–551. doi: 10.1038/323548a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Lee K. A., Fink J. S., Goodman R. H., Green M. R. Distinguishable promoter elements are involved in transcriptional activation by E1a and cyclic AMP. Mol Cell Biol. 1989 Oct;9(10):4390–4397. doi: 10.1128/mcb.9.10.4390. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Lee K. A., Green M. R. A cellular transcription factor E4F1 interacts with an E1a-inducible enhancer and mediates constitutive enhancer function in vitro. EMBO J. 1987 May;6(5):1345–1353. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1987.tb02374.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Lee K. A., Hai T. Y., SivaRaman L., Thimmappaya B., Hurst H. C., Jones N. C., Green M. R. A cellular protein, activating transcription factor, activates transcription of multiple E1A-inducible adenovirus early promoters. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1987 Dec;84(23):8355–8359. doi: 10.1073/pnas.84.23.8355. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Leff T., Corden J., Elkaim R., Sassone-Corsi P. Transcriptional analysis of the adenovirus-5 EIII promoter: absence of sequence specificity for stimulation by EIa gene products. Nucleic Acids Res. 1985 Feb 25;13(4):1209–1221. doi: 10.1093/nar/13.4.1209. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Lillie J. W., Green M. R. Transcription activation by the adenovirus E1a protein. Nature. 1989 Mar 2;338(6210):39–44. doi: 10.1038/338039a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Lin Y. S., Green M. R. Interaction of a common cellular transcription factor, ATF, with regulatory elements in both E1a- and cyclic AMP-inducible promoters. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1988 May;85(10):3396–3400. doi: 10.1073/pnas.85.10.3396. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Loeken M. R., Brady J. The adenovirus EIIA enhancer. Analysis of regulatory sequences and changes in binding activity of ATF and EIIF following adenovirus infection. J Biol Chem. 1989 Apr 15;264(11):6572–6579. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Maniatis T., Goodbourn S., Fischer J. A. Regulation of inducible and tissue-specific gene expression. Science. 1987 Jun 5;236(4806):1237–1245. doi: 10.1126/science.3296191. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Mitchell P. J., Tjian R. Transcriptional regulation in mammalian cells by sequence-specific DNA binding proteins. Science. 1989 Jul 28;245(4916):371–378. doi: 10.1126/science.2667136. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Montminy M. R., Bilezikjian L. M. Binding of a nuclear protein to the cyclic-AMP response element of the somatostatin gene. Nature. 1987 Jul 9;328(6126):175–178. doi: 10.1038/328175a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Neill S. D., Hemstrom C., Virtanen A., Nevins J. R. An adenovirus E4 gene product trans-activates E2 transcription and stimulates stable E2F binding through a direct association with E2F. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1990 Mar;87(5):2008–2012. doi: 10.1073/pnas.87.5.2008. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. Nevins J. R. Definition and mapping of adenovirus 2 nuclear transcription. Methods Enzymol. 1980;65(1):768–785. doi: 10.1016/s0076-6879(80)65072-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Nevins J. R. Mechanisms of viral-mediated trans-activation of transcription. Adv Virus Res. 1989;37:35–83. doi: 10.1016/s0065-3527(08)60832-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. O'Neill E. A., Kelly T. J. Purification and characterization of nuclear factor III (origin recognition protein C), a sequence-specific DNA binding protein required for efficient initiation of adenovirus DNA replication. J Biol Chem. 1988 Jan 15;263(2):931–937. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  37. Raychaudhuri P., Bagchi S., Neill S. D., Nevins J. R. Activation of the E2F transcription factor in adenovirus-infected cells involves E1A-dependent stimulation of DNA-binding activity and induction of cooperative binding mediated by an E4 gene product. J Virol. 1990 Jun;64(6):2702–2710. doi: 10.1128/jvi.64.6.2702-2710.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  38. Raychaudhuri P., Bagchi S., Nevins J. R. DNA-binding activity of the adenovirus-induced E4F transcription factor is regulated by phosphorylation. Genes Dev. 1989 May;3(5):620–627. doi: 10.1101/gad.3.5.620. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  39. Raychaudhuri P., Rooney R., Nevins J. R. Identification of an E1A-inducible cellular factor that interacts with regulatory sequences within the adenovirus E4 promoter. EMBO J. 1987 Dec 20;6(13):4073–4081. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1987.tb02753.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  40. Reichel R., Kovesdi I., Nevins J. R. Activation of a preexisting cellular factor as a basis for adenovirus E1A-mediated transcription control. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1988 Jan;85(2):387–390. doi: 10.1073/pnas.85.2.387. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  41. Reichel R., Neill S. D., Kovesdi I., Simon M. C., Raychaudhuri P., Nevins J. R. The adenovirus E4 gene, in addition to the E1A gene, is important for trans-activation of E2 transcription and for E2F activation. J Virol. 1989 Sep;63(9):3643–3650. doi: 10.1128/jvi.63.9.3643-3650.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  42. Sassone-Corsi P. Cyclic AMP induction of early adenovirus promoters involves sequences required for E1A trans-activation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1988 Oct;85(19):7192–7196. doi: 10.1073/pnas.85.19.7192. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  43. Scheidereit C., Heguy A., Roeder R. G. Identification and purification of a human lymphoid-specific octamer-binding protein (OTF-2) that activates transcription of an immunoglobulin promoter in vitro. Cell. 1987 Dec 4;51(5):783–793. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(87)90101-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  44. Simon M. C., Fisch T. M., Benecke B. J., Nevins J. R., Heintz N. Definition of multiple, functionally distinct TATA elements, one of which is a target in the hsp70 promoter for E1A regulation. Cell. 1988 Mar 11;52(5):723–729. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(88)90410-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  45. Simon M. C., Rooney R. J., Fisch T. M., Heintz N., Nevins J. R. E1A-dependent trans-activation of the c-fos promoter requires the TATAA sequence. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1990 Jan;87(2):513–517. doi: 10.1073/pnas.87.2.513. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  46. SivaRaman L., Subramanian S., Thimmappaya B. Identification of a factor in HeLa cells specific for an upstream transcriptional control sequence of an EIA-inducible adenovirus promoter and its relative abundance in infected and uninfected cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1986 Aug;83(16):5914–5918. doi: 10.1073/pnas.83.16.5914. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  47. Staudt L. M., Singh H., Sen R., Wirth T., Sharp P. A., Baltimore D. A lymphoid-specific protein binding to the octamer motif of immunoglobulin genes. Nature. 1986 Oct 16;323(6089):640–643. doi: 10.1038/323640a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  48. Sturm R., Baumruker T., Franza B. R., Jr, Herr W. A 100-kD HeLa cell octamer binding protein (OBP100) interacts differently with two separate octamer-related sequences within the SV40 enhancer. Genes Dev. 1987 Dec;1(10):1147–1160. doi: 10.1101/gad.1.10.1147. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  49. Tan T. H., Jia R., Roeder R. G. Utilization of signal transduction pathway by the human T-cell leukemia virus type I transcriptional activator tax. J Virol. 1989 Sep;63(9):3761–3768. doi: 10.1128/jvi.63.9.3761-3768.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  50. Wigler M., Silverstein S., Lee L. S., Pellicer A., Cheng Y. c., Axel R. Transfer of purified herpes virus thymidine kinase gene to cultured mouse cells. Cell. 1977 May;11(1):223–232. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(77)90333-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  51. Wu L., Rosser D. S., Schmidt M. C., Berk A. A TATA box implicated in E1A transcriptional activation of a simple adenovirus 2 promoter. Nature. 1987 Apr 2;326(6112):512–515. doi: 10.1038/326512a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  52. Yamamoto K. K., Gonzalez G. A., Biggs W. H., 3rd, Montminy M. R. Phosphorylation-induced binding and transcriptional efficacy of nuclear factor CREB. Nature. 1988 Aug 11;334(6182):494–498. doi: 10.1038/334494a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  53. Yee A. S., Raychaudhuri P., Jakoi L., Nevins J. R. The adenovirus-inducible factor E2F stimulates transcription after specific DNA binding. Mol Cell Biol. 1989 Feb;9(2):578–585. doi: 10.1128/mcb.9.2.578. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  54. Yoshinaga S., Dean N., Han M., Berk A. J. Adenovirus stimulation of transcription by RNA polymerase III: evidence for an E1A-dependent increase in transcription factor IIIC concentration. EMBO J. 1986 Feb;5(2):343–354. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1986.tb04218.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Molecular and Cellular Biology are provided here courtesy of Taylor & Francis

RESOURCES