A functional screen in human cells identifies UBF2 as an RNA polymerase II transcription factor that enhances the beta-catenin signaling pathway.
beta-Catenin signaling plays an important role in the development of many organisms and has a key part in driving the malignant transformation of epithelial cells comprising a variety of cancers. beta-Catenin can activate gene expression through its association with transcription factors of the lymphoid enhancer factor 1 (LEF-1)/T-cell factor (TCF) family. We designed a screen in human cells to identify novel genes that activate a beta-catenin-LEF/TCF-responsive promoter and isolated the high-mobility group box transcription factor, UBF2. UBF1 and UBF2 are splice variants of a common precursor RNA. Although UBF1 has been shown to activate RNA polymerase I-regulated genes, the function of UBF2 has remained obscure. Here, we show for the first time that both UBF1 and UBF2 activate RNA polymerase II-regulated promoters. UBF2 associates with LEF-1, as shown by coimmunoprecipitation experiments, and potentiates transcriptional activation stimulated by LEF-1/beta-catenin from a synthetic promoter with multimerized LEF/TCF binding sites and a natural cyclin D1 promoter with consensus LEF/TCF binding sites. Downregulation of endogenous UBF expression using an RNA interference approach reduces transcriptional activation of a beta-catenin-LEF/TCF-responsive promoter by means of overexpressed beta-catenin, further implicating UBF as a transcriptional enhancer of the beta-catenin pathway.
Aventis Cambridge Genomics Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA. dorre.grueneberg@aventis.com
Dorre A
DA
Grueneberg
Lourdes
L
Pablo
Kang-Quan
KQ
Hu
Paul
P
August
Zhigang
Z
Weng
Jacqueline
J
Papkoff
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D002460:Cell Line; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D019938:Cyclin D1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D006609:High Mobility Group Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D051821:Lymphoid Enhancer-Binding Factor 1; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D035463:Pol1 Transcription Initiation Complex Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D012319:RNA Polymerase II / Q000378:metabolism*; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051176:beta Catenin
C495270:CTNNB1 protein, human; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D006609:High Mobility Group Proteins; C497573:LEF1 protein, human; D051821:Lymphoid Enhancer-Binding Factor 1; D035463:Pol1 Transcription Initiation Complex Proteins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D015534:Trans-Activators; D014157:Transcription Factors; D051176:beta Catenin; C063844:transcription factor UBF; D019938:Cyclin D1; D012319:RNA Polymerase II