title: ATF-2 has intrinsic histone acetyltransferase activity which is modulated by phosphorylation.
abstract: Transcription factors carry functional domains, which are often physically distinct, for sequence-specific DNA binding, transcriptional activation and regulatory functions. The transcription factor ATF-2 is a DNA-binding protein that binds to cyclic AMP-response elements (CREs), forms a homodimer or heterodimer with c-Jun, and stimulates CRE-dependent transcription. Here we report that ATF-2 is a histone acetyltransferase (HAT), which specifically acetylates histones H2B and H4 in vitro. Motif A, which is located in the HAT domain, is responsible for the stimulation of CRE-dependent transcription; moreover, in response to ultraviolet irradiation, phosphorylation of ATF-2 is accompanied by enhanced HAT activity of ATF-2 and CRE-dependent transcription. These results indicate that phosphorylation of ATF-2 controls its intrinsic HAT activity and its action on CRE-dependent transcription. ATF-2 may represent a new class of sequence-specific factors, which are able to activate transcription by direct effects on chromatin components.
authors.affiliation: Tsukuba Life Science Center, The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN), Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kawasaki
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Schiltz
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Itakura
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Taira
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakatani
authors.forename: K K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Yokoyama
mesh_terms: D000123:Acetyltransferases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051698:Activating Transcription Factor 2; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D017362:Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D006367:HeLa Cells; D051548:Histone Acetyltransferases; D006657:Histones / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008156:Luciferases / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020218:Response Elements; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: C497105:ATF2 protein, human; D051698:Activating Transcription Factor 2; D017362:Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein; D006657:Histones; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D008156:Luciferases; D000123:Acetyltransferases; D051548:Histone Acetyltransferases