title: The cell type-specific octamer transcription factor OTF-2 has two domains required for the activation of transcription.
abstract: Many studies indicate that the cell type-specific transcription factor OTF-2 plays a central role in the lymphoid-specific transcription of immunoglobulin genes. In order to better understand the mechanisms regulating transcriptional selectivity, we have initiated a functional dissection of OTF-2. By mutagenesis of an OTF-2 cDNA and by subsequent transfection into non-lymphoid cells we have defined two domains that are required jointly for high levels of transcription from a lymphoid-specific target promoter. One of these domains, located at the extreme carboxy-terminus, is rich in proline. The other domain, which appears to represent a novel type, is located upstream of the POU-specific box and contains clusters of intermingled proline, glutamine and leucine residues. Point mutations that change either groups of glutamine or groups of leucine show that both types of amino acids are required for function. Our data indicate that a high content in a particular amino acid does not necessarily suffice to generate a potent activation domain but that severe structural constraints may also play a major role.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10021.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gerster
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Balmaceda
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Roeder
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D002872:Chromosome Deletion; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D050813:Octamer Transcription Factor-2; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000502:physiology*; D015533:Transcriptional Activation / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D050813:Octamer Transcription Factor-2; C058435:POU2F2 protein, human; D014157:Transcription Factors