title: Functional dissection of the alpha and beta subunits of transcription factor PEBP2 and the redox susceptibility of its DNA binding activity.
abstract: The mouse transcription factor PEBP2 is a heterodimer of two subunits: a DNA binding subunit alpha and its partner subunit beta. The alpha subunit shares a region of high homology, termed the Runt domain, with the products of the Drosophila melanogaster segmentation gene runt and the human acute myeloid leukemia-related gene AML1. To study the molecular basis for the DNA binding and heterodimerization functions of this factor, we constructed series of deletions of the alpha and beta subunits and examined their activities by electrophoretic mobility shift and affinity column assays. The minimal functional region of the alpha subunit for DNA binding and dimerization was shown to coincide with the Runt domain. On the other hand, the region of the beta subunit required for heterodimerization was localized to the N-terminal 135 amino acids. Furthermore, it was found that the DNA binding activity of the Runt domain is regulated by a reduction/oxidization (redox) mechanism and that its reductively activated state, which is extremely labile, is stabilized by the beta subunit. These findings add a new layer to the mechanism and significance of the regulatory interplay between the two subunits of PEBP2.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Genetics and Molecular Biology, Institute for Virus Research, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606, Japan. kshigesa@virus.kyoto-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kagoshima
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Akamatsu
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shigesada
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D051379:Mice; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D017384:Sequence Deletion; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D050656:Transcription Factor AP-2; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds; D050656:Transcription Factor AP-2; D014157:Transcription Factors