title: A CT promoter element binding protein: definition of a double-strand and a novel single-strand DNA binding motif.
abstract: Numerous genes contain promoter elements that are nuclease hypersensitive. These elements frequently possess polypurine/polypyrimidine stretches and are usually associated with altered chromatin structure. We have previously isolated a clone that binds a class of CT-rich promoter elements. We have further characterized this clone, termed the nuclease-sensitive element protein-1, or NSEP-1. NSEP-1 binds both duplex CT elements and the CT-rich strand of these elements in a 'generic' sequence specific manner and has overlapping but distinct single-and double-strand DNA binding domains. The minimal peptide region sufficient for both duplex and single-strand DNA binding includes two regions rich in basic amino acids flanking an RNP-CS-1 like octapeptide motif. Deletion analysis shows that the single-strand DNA binding activity is mediated by the RNP-CS-1 like octapeptide motif and is the key peptide region necessary for single-strand binding. NSEP-1's affinity for CT rich promoter elements with strand asymmetry in addition to its double- and single-strand DNA binding properties suggests that it may be a member of a class of DNA binding proteins that modulate gene expression by their ability to recognize DNA with unusual secondary structure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Genetics, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY 14263.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kolluri
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Torrey
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Kinniburgh
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D004247:DNA