title: Transcriptional coactivator complexes.
abstract: The last two decades have witnessed a tremendous expansion in our knowledge of the mechanisms employed by eukaryotic cells to control gene activity. A critical insight to transcriptional control mechanisms was provided by the discovery of coactivators, a diverse array of cellular factors that connect sequence-specific DNA binding activators to the general transcriptional machinery, or that help activators and the transcriptional apparatus to navigate through the constraints of chromatin. A number of coactivators have been isolated as large multifunctional complexes, and biochemical, genetic, molecular, and cellular strategies have all contributed to uncovering many of their components, activities, and modes of action. Coactivator functions can be broadly divide into two classes: (a) adaptors that direct activator recruitment of the transcriptional apparatus, (b) chromatin-remodeling or -modifying enzymes. Strikingly, several distinct coactivator complexes nonetheless share many subunits and appear to be assembled in a modular fashion. Such structural and functional modularity could provide the cell with building blocks from which to construct a versatile array of coactivator complexes according to its needs. The extent of functional interplay between these different activities in gene-specific transcriptional regulation is only now becoming apparent, and will remain an active area of research for years to come.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, 401 Barker Hall, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA. anders@uclink4.berkeley.edu
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Näär
authors.forename: B D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Lemon
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tjian
mesh_terms: D000123:Acetyltransferases / Q000378:metabolism; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D002843:Chromatin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D051548:Histone Acetyltransferases; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D035381:TATA-Binding Protein Associated Factors; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology; D035362:Transcription Factor TFIID; D019473:Transcription Factors, TFII / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D015533:Transcriptional Activation
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D035381:TATA-Binding Protein Associated Factors; D015534:Trans-Activators; D035362:Transcription Factor TFIID; D019473:Transcription Factors, TFII; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; D000123:Acetyltransferases; D051548:Histone Acetyltransferases; C069001:TATA-binding protein associated factor 250 kDa