title: Preferred sequences for DNA recognition by the TAL1 helix-loop-helix proteins.
abstract: Tumor-specific activation of the TAL1 gene is the most common genetic alteration seen in patients with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The TAL1 gene products contain the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) domain, a protein dimerization and DNA-binding motif common to several known transcription factors. A binding-site selection procedure has now been used to evaluate the DNA recognition properties of TAL1. These studies demonstrate that TAL1 polypeptides do not have intrinsic DNA-binding activity, presumably because of their inability to form bHLH homodimers. However, TAL1 readily interacts with any of the known class A bHLH proteins (E12, E47, E2-2, and HEB) to form heterodimers that bind DNA in a sequence-specific manner. The TAL1 heterodimers preferentially recognize a subset of E-box elements (CANNTG) that can be represented by the consensus sequence AACAGATGGT. This consensus is composed of half-sites for recognition by the participating class A bHLH polypeptide (AACAG) and the TAL1 polypeptide (ATGGT). TAL1 heterodimers with DNA-binding activity are readily detected in nuclear extracts of Jurkat, a leukemic cell line derived from a patient with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Hence, TAL1 is likely to bind and regulate the transcription of a unique subset of subordinate target genes, some of which may mediate the malignant function of TAL1 during T-cell leukemogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas 75235.
authors.forename: H L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Tsan
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Funk
authors.forename: W E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Kingston
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Baer
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; D001665:Binding Sites; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D016384:Consensus Sequence; D017931:DNA Primers; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000378:metabolism; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000378:metabolism*; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D018257:Helix-Loop-Helix Motifs; D006801:Humans; D015459:Leukemia-Lymphoma, Adult T-Cell / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D011519:Proto-Oncogenes; D000073942:T-Cell Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia Protein 1; D014157:Transcription Factors; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; D017931:DNA Primers; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D000073942:T-Cell Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia Protein 1; D014157:Transcription Factors; C067143:TAL1 protein, human