Skip to main content
PMC home page
Molecular and Cellular Biology logoLink to Molecular and Cellular Biology
. 1992 Feb;12(2):542–551. doi: 10.1128/mcb.12.2.542

The Oct-1 POU domain mediates interactions between Oct-1 and other POU proteins.

C P Verrijzer 1, J A van Oosterhout 1, P C van der Vliet 1
PMCID: PMC364225  PMID: 1346336

Abstract

The POU domain is the conserved DNA binding domain of a family of gene regulatory proteins. It consists of a POU-specific domain and a POU homeodomain, connected by a variable linker region. Oct-1 is a ubiquitously expressed POU domain transcription factor. It binds to the canonical octamer sequence (ATGCAAAT) as a monomer. Here we show by chemical cross-linking and protein affinity chromatography that the Oct-1 POU domain monomers can interact in solution. This association requires both the POU homeodomain and the POU-specific domain. The interaction is transient in solution and can be stabilized by binding to the heptamer-octamer sequence in the immunoglobulin heavy-chain promoter. This correlates with cooperative DNA binding to this site. POU proteins from different subclasses, including Oct-1, Oct-2A, Oct-6, and a chimeric Oct-1 protein containing the Pit-1 POU domain, can bind cooperatively to a double binding site and form a heteromeric complex.

Full text

PDF
544

Images in this article

544Image
on p.544
546Image
on p.546
547Image
on p.547
547Image
on p.547
548Image
on p.548

Selected References

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

  1. Ballard D. W., Bothwell A. Mutational analysis of the immunoglobulin heavy chain promoter region. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1986 Dec;83(24):9626–9630. doi: 10.1073/pnas.83.24.9626. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Baumruker T., Sturm R., Herr W. OBP100 binds remarkably degenerate octamer motifs through specific interactions with flanking sequences. Genes Dev. 1988 Nov;2(11):1400–1413. doi: 10.1101/gad.2.11.1400. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bodner M., Castrillo J. L., Theill L. E., Deerinck T., Ellisman M., Karin M. The pituitary-specific transcription factor GHF-1 is a homeobox-containing protein. Cell. 1988 Nov 4;55(3):505–518. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(88)90037-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Brüggemeier U., Kalff M., Franke S., Scheidereit C., Beato M. Ubiquitous transcription factor OTF-1 mediates induction of the MMTV promoter through synergistic interaction with hormone receptors. Cell. 1991 Feb 8;64(3):565–572. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(91)90240-y. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Clerc R. G., Corcoran L. M., LeBowitz J. H., Baltimore D., Sharp P. A. The B-cell-specific Oct-2 protein contains POU box- and homeo box-type domains. Genes Dev. 1988 Dec;2(12A):1570–1581. doi: 10.1101/gad.2.12a.1570. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Courey A. J., Holtzman D. A., Jackson S. P., Tjian R. Synergistic activation by the glutamine-rich domains of human transcription factor Sp1. Cell. 1989 Dec 1;59(5):827–836. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(89)90606-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Dranginis A. M. Binding of yeast a1 and alpha 2 as a heterodimer to the operator DNA of a haploid-specific gene. Nature. 1990 Oct 18;347(6294):682–685. doi: 10.1038/347682a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Eaton S., Calame K. Multiple DNA sequence elements are necessary for the function of an immunoglobulin heavy chain promoter. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1987 Nov;84(21):7634–7638. doi: 10.1073/pnas.84.21.7634. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Elsholtz H. P., Albert V. R., Treacy M. N., Rosenfeld M. G. A two-base change in a POU factor-binding site switches pituitary-specific to lymphoid-specific gene expression. Genes Dev. 1990 Jan;4(1):43–51. doi: 10.1101/gad.4.1.43. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Falkner F. G., Zachau H. G. Correct transcription of an immunoglobulin kappa gene requires an upstream fragment containing conserved sequence elements. Nature. 1984 Jul 5;310(5972):71–74. doi: 10.1038/310071a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Garcia J. V., Bich-Thuy L. T., Stafford J., Queen C. Synergism between immunoglobulin enhancers and promoters. Nature. 1986 Jul 24;322(6077):383–385. doi: 10.1038/322383a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Giniger E., Ptashne M. Cooperative DNA binding of the yeast transcriptional activator GAL4. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1988 Jan;85(2):382–386. doi: 10.1073/pnas.85.2.382. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Goding C. R., O'Hare P. Herpes simplex virus Vmw65-octamer binding protein interaction: a paradigm for combinatorial control of transcription. Virology. 1989 Dec;173(2):363–367. doi: 10.1016/0042-6822(89)90548-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Gounari F., De Francesco R., Schmitt J., van der Vliet P., Cortese R., Stunnenberg H. Amino-terminal domain of NF1 binds to DNA as a dimer and activates adenovirus DNA replication. EMBO J. 1990 Feb;9(2):559–566. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1990.tb08143.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Goutte C., Johnson A. D. a1 protein alters the DNA binding specificity of alpha 2 repressor. Cell. 1988 Mar 25;52(6):875–882. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(88)90429-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. He X., Gerrero R., Simmons D. M., Park R. E., Lin C. J., Swanson L. W., Rosenfeld M. G. Tst-1, a member of the POU domain gene family, binds the promoter of the gene encoding the cell surface adhesion molecule P0. Mol Cell Biol. 1991 Mar;11(3):1739–1744. doi: 10.1128/mcb.11.3.1739. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Herr W., Sturm R. A., Clerc R. G., Corcoran L. M., Baltimore D., Sharp P. A., Ingraham H. A., Rosenfeld M. G., Finney M., Ruvkun G. The POU domain: a large conserved region in the mammalian pit-1, oct-1, oct-2, and Caenorhabditis elegans unc-86 gene products. Genes Dev. 1988 Dec;2(12A):1513–1516. doi: 10.1101/gad.2.12a.1513. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Hochschild A., Ptashne M. Cooperative binding of lambda repressors to sites separated by integral turns of the DNA helix. Cell. 1986 Mar 14;44(5):681–687. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(86)90833-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Hope I. A., Struhl K. GCN4, a eukaryotic transcriptional activator protein, binds as a dimer to target DNA. EMBO J. 1987 Sep;6(9):2781–2784. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1987.tb02573.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Ingraham H. A., Chen R. P., Mangalam H. J., Elsholtz H. P., Flynn S. E., Lin C. R., Simmons D. M., Swanson L., Rosenfeld M. G. A tissue-specific transcription factor containing a homeodomain specifies a pituitary phenotype. Cell. 1988 Nov 4;55(3):519–529. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(88)90038-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Ingraham H. A., Flynn S. E., Voss J. W., Albert V. R., Kapiloff M. S., Wilson L., Rosenfeld M. G. The POU-specific domain of Pit-1 is essential for sequence-specific, high affinity DNA binding and DNA-dependent Pit-1-Pit-1 interactions. Cell. 1990 Jun 15;61(6):1021–1033. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(90)90067-o. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Jenuwein T., Grosschedl R. Complex pattern of immunoglobulin mu gene expression in normal and transgenic mice: nonoverlapping regulatory sequences govern distinct tissue specificities. Genes Dev. 1991 Jun;5(6):932–943. doi: 10.1101/gad.5.6.932. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Ji T. H. Bifunctional reagents. Methods Enzymol. 1983;91:580–609. doi: 10.1016/s0076-6879(83)91053-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Jones N. Transcriptional regulation by dimerization: two sides to an incestuous relationship. Cell. 1990 Apr 6;61(1):9–11. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(90)90207-u. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Karin M., Castrillo J. L., Theill L. E. Growth hormone gene regulation: a paradigm for cell-type-specific gene activation. Trends Genet. 1990 Mar;6(3):92–96. doi: 10.1016/0168-9525(90)90100-k. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Kemler I., Bucher E., Seipel K., Müller-Immerglück M. M., Schaffner W. Promoters with the octamer DNA motif (ATGCAAAT) can be ubiquitous or cell type-specific depending on binding affinity of the octamer site and Oct-factor concentration. Nucleic Acids Res. 1991 Jan 25;19(2):237–242. doi: 10.1093/nar/19.2.237. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Kemler I., Schreiber E., Müller M. M., Matthias P., Schaffner W. Octamer transcription factors bind to two different sequence motifs of the immunoglobulin heavy chain promoter. EMBO J. 1989 Jul;8(7):2001–2008. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1989.tb03607.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Kim J., Zwieb C., Wu C., Adhya S. Bending of DNA by gene-regulatory proteins: construction and use of a DNA bending vector. Gene. 1989 Dec 21;85(1):15–23. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(89)90459-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Ko H. S., Fast P., McBride W., Staudt L. M. A human protein specific for the immunoglobulin octamer DNA motif contains a functional homeobox domain. Cell. 1988 Oct 7;55(1):135–144. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(88)90016-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Kristie T. M., Sharp P. A. Interactions of the Oct-1 POU subdomains with specific DNA sequences and with the HSV alpha-trans-activator protein. Genes Dev. 1990 Dec;4(12B):2383–2396. doi: 10.1101/gad.4.12b.2383. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. 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]
  32. Landschulz W. H., Johnson P. F., McKnight S. L. The DNA binding domain of the rat liver nuclear protein C/EBP is bipartite. Science. 1989 Mar 31;243(4899):1681–1688. doi: 10.1126/science.2494700. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. LeBowitz J. H., Clerc R. G., Brenowitz M., Sharp P. A. The Oct-2 protein binds cooperatively to adjacent octamer sites. Genes Dev. 1989 Oct;3(10):1625–1638. doi: 10.1101/gad.3.10.1625. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. LeBowitz J. H., Kobayashi T., Staudt L., Baltimore D., Sharp P. A. Octamer-binding proteins from B or HeLa cells stimulate transcription of the immunoglobulin heavy-chain promoter in vitro. Genes Dev. 1988 Oct;2(10):1227–1237. doi: 10.1101/gad.2.10.1227. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Martinez E., Wahli W. Cooperative binding of estrogen receptor to imperfect estrogen-responsive DNA elements correlates with their synergistic hormone-dependent enhancer activity. EMBO J. 1989 Dec 1;8(12):3781–3791. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1989.tb08555.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. Maxam A. M., Gilbert W. Sequencing end-labeled DNA with base-specific chemical cleavages. Methods Enzymol. 1980;65(1):499–560. doi: 10.1016/s0076-6879(80)65059-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  37. Meijer D., Graus A., Kraay R., Langeveld A., Mulder M. P., Grosveld G. The octamer binding factor Oct6: cDNA cloning and expression in early embryonic cells. Nucleic Acids Res. 1990 Dec 25;18(24):7357–7365. doi: 10.1093/nar/18.24.7357. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  38. Mermod N., O'Neill E. A., Kelly T. J., Tjian R. The proline-rich transcriptional activator of CTF/NF-I is distinct from the replication and DNA binding domain. Cell. 1989 Aug 25;58(4):741–753. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(89)90108-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  39. Monuki E. S., Kuhn R., Weinmaster G., Trapp B. D., Lemke G. Expression and activity of the POU transcription factor SCIP. Science. 1990 Sep 14;249(4974):1300–1303. doi: 10.1126/science.1975954. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  40. Mul Y. M., Verrijzer C. P., van der Vliet P. C. Transcription factors NFI and NFIII/oct-1 function independently, employing different mechanisms to enhance adenovirus DNA replication. J Virol. 1990 Nov;64(11):5510–5518. doi: 10.1128/jvi.64.11.5510-5518.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  41. Murphy S., Pierani A., Scheidereit C., Melli M., Roeder R. G. Purified octamer binding transcription factors stimulate RNA polymerase III--mediated transcription of the 7SK RNA gene. Cell. 1989 Dec 22;59(6):1071–1080. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(89)90763-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  42. Müller-Immerglück M. M., Schaffner W., Matthias P. Transcription factor Oct-2A contains functionally redundant activating domains and works selectively from a promoter but not from a remote enhancer position in non-lymphoid (HeLa) cells. EMBO J. 1990 May;9(5):1625–1634. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1990.tb08282.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  43. Müller M. M., Ruppert S., Schaffner W., Matthias P. A cloned octamer transcription factor stimulates transcription from lymphoid-specific promoters in non-B cells. Nature. 1988 Dec 8;336(6199):544–551. doi: 10.1038/336544a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  44. Nelson C., Albert V. R., Elsholtz H. P., Lu L. I., Rosenfeld M. G. Activation of cell-specific expression of rat growth hormone and prolactin genes by a common transcription factor. Science. 1988 Mar 18;239(4846):1400–1405. doi: 10.1126/science.2831625. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  45. 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]
  46. Pierani A., Heguy A., Fujii H., Roeder R. G. Activation of octamer-containing promoters by either octamer-binding transcription factor 1 (OTF-1) or OTF-2 and requirement of an additional B-cell-specific component for optimal transcription of immunoglobulin promoters. Mol Cell Biol. 1990 Dec;10(12):6204–6215. doi: 10.1128/mcb.10.12.6204. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  47. Poellinger L., Roeder R. G. Octamer transcription factors 1 and 2 each bind to two different functional elements in the immunoglobulin heavy-chain promoter. Mol Cell Biol. 1989 Feb;9(2):747–756. doi: 10.1128/mcb.9.2.747. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  48. Poellinger L., Yoza B. K., Roeder R. G. Functional cooperativity between protein molecules bound at two distinct sequence elements of the immunoglobulin heavy-chain promoter. Nature. 1989 Feb 9;337(6207):573–576. doi: 10.1038/337573a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  49. Pruijn G. J., van Driel W., van Miltenburg R. T., van der Vliet P. C. Promoter and enhancer elements containing a conserved sequence motif are recognized by nuclear factor III, a protein stimulating adenovirus DNA replication. EMBO J. 1987 Dec 1;6(12):3771–3778. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1987.tb02712.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  50. Rosenfeld M. G. POU-domain transcription factors: pou-er-ful developmental regulators. Genes Dev. 1991 Jun;5(6):897–907. doi: 10.1101/gad.5.6.897. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  51. Ruvkun G., Finney M. Regulation of transcription and cell identity by POU domain proteins. Cell. 1991 Feb 8;64(3):475–478. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(91)90227-p. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  52. Schaffner W. How do different transcription factors binding the same DNA sequence sort out their jobs? Trends Genet. 1989 Feb;5(2):37–39. doi: 10.1016/0168-9525(89)90017-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  53. Scheidereit C., Cromlish J. A., Gerster T., Kawakami K., Balmaceda C. G., Currie R. A., Roeder R. G. A human lymphoid-specific transcription factor that activates immunoglobulin genes is a homoeobox protein. Nature. 1988 Dec 8;336(6199):551–557. doi: 10.1038/336551a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  54. 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]
  55. Smith D. B., Johnson K. S. Single-step purification of polypeptides expressed in Escherichia coli as fusions with glutathione S-transferase. Gene. 1988 Jul 15;67(1):31–40. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(88)90005-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  56. 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]
  57. Stern S., Tanaka M., Herr W. The Oct-1 homoeodomain directs formation of a multiprotein-DNA complex with the HSV transactivator VP16. Nature. 1989 Oct 19;341(6243):624–630. doi: 10.1038/341624a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  58. Sturm R. A., Das G., Herr W. The ubiquitous octamer-binding protein Oct-1 contains a POU domain with a homeo box subdomain. Genes Dev. 1988 Dec;2(12A):1582–1599. doi: 10.1101/gad.2.12a.1582. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  59. Sturm R. A., Herr W. The POU domain is a bipartite DNA-binding structure. Nature. 1988 Dec 8;336(6199):601–604. doi: 10.1038/336601a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  60. Suzuki N., Rohdewohld H., Neuman T., Gruss P., Schöler H. R. Oct-6: a POU transcription factor expressed in embryonal stem cells and in the developing brain. EMBO J. 1990 Nov;9(11):3723–3732. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1990.tb07585.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  61. Tsai S. Y., Tsai M. J., O'Malley B. W. Cooperative binding of steroid hormone receptors contributes to transcriptional synergism at target enhancer elements. Cell. 1989 May 5;57(3):443–448. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(89)90919-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  62. Tullius T. D., Dombroski B. A. Hydroxyl radical "footprinting": high-resolution information about DNA-protein contacts and application to lambda repressor and Cro protein. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1986 Aug;83(15):5469–5473. doi: 10.1073/pnas.83.15.5469. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  63. Verrijzer C. P., Kal A. J., Van der Vliet P. C. The DNA binding domain (POU domain) of transcription factor oct-1 suffices for stimulation of DNA replication. EMBO J. 1990 Jun;9(6):1883–1888. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1990.tb08314.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  64. Verrijzer C. P., Kal A. J., van der Vliet P. C. The oct-1 homeo domain contacts only part of the octamer sequence and full oct-1 DNA-binding activity requires the POU-specific domain. Genes Dev. 1990 Nov;4(11):1964–1974. doi: 10.1101/gad.4.11.1964. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  65. Verrijzer C. P., van Oosterhout J. A., van Weperen W. W., van der Vliet P. C. POU proteins bend DNA via the POU-specific domain. EMBO J. 1991 Oct;10(10):3007–3014. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1991.tb07851.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  66. Voss J. W., Wilson L., Rosenfeld M. G. POU-domain proteins Pit-1 and Oct-1 interact to form a heteromeric complex and can cooperate to induce expression of the prolactin promoter. Genes Dev. 1991 Jul;5(7):1309–1320. doi: 10.1101/gad.5.7.1309. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  67. Wirth T., Staudt L., Baltimore D. An octamer oligonucleotide upstream of a TATA motif is sufficient for lymphoid-specific promoter activity. Nature. 1987 Sep 10;329(6135):174–178. doi: 10.1038/329174a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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

RESOURCES