Two functionally different regions in Fos are required for the sequence-specific DNA interaction of the Fos/Jun protein complex.
THE products of the cellular and retroviral fos genes associate with other nuclear proteins, among them the transcription factor AP1/Jun (see ref. 3 for a review). The Fos/Jun complex binds to a specific symmetrical DNA recognition sequence (termed TRE), thus stimulating transcription of the respective gene. Here, we show that two distinct regions in Fos are required for the formation of a Fos/Jun/TRE complex. These are the leucine zipper, involved in the association with Jun, and a directly adjacent basic region. Specific amino-acid substitutions in this basic, presumably alpha-helical, region abolish the interaction of Fos/Jun with the TRE but not the association of the two proteins. The functionally crucial amino acids are located in a region of Fos which is structurally similar to the putative DNA-binding sites in Jun and in the yeast transcriptional activator GCN4 (refs 15 and 16).
Neuberg
M
M
Institut für Molekularbiologie und Tumorforschung, Phillips-Universität Marburg, FRG.
Schuermann
M
M
Hunter
J B
JB
Müller
R
R
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D007930:Leucine; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos; D016755:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-jun; D014157:Transcription Factors
D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos; D016755:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-jun; D014157:Transcription Factors; D007930:Leucine