title: Structure of NFAT bound to DNA as a monomer.
abstract: The nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) is a calcium-dependent transcription factor that cooperates with a myriad of partner transcription factors to regulate distinct transcription programs. Transcription activation by NFAT without the cooperation of co-stimulatory signals in lymphocytes can also impose a genetic program of anergy. Although the ternary NFAT1/Fos-Jun/DNA complex has been structurally characterized, how NFAT1 recognizes DNA in the absence of cooperative partners and how such a binary NFAT/DNA complex may lead to the assembly of distinct high-order NFAT transcription complexes are still poorly understood. We have determined the crystal structure of the entire Rel homology region (RHR) of human NFAT1 (NFATc2) bound to DNA as a monomer. We also present footprinting evidence that corroborates the protein-DNA contacts observed in the crystal structure. Our structural and biochemical studies reveal the mechanism by which the monomeric Rel protein NFAT recognizes its cognate DNA site. A remarkable feature of the binary NFAT/DNA complex is the conformational flexibility exhibited by NFAT1 in the four independent copies of the NFAT/DNA complex in the crystal structure, which may reflect a mechanism by which NFAT1 interacts with a variety of protein partners as it mediates disparate biological responses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado at Boulder, Campus Box 215, Boulder, CO 80309-0437, USA.
authors.forename: James C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Stroud
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism*; D018983:DNA Footprinting; D017931:DNA Primers; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D024202:Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay; D006801:Humans; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D050778:NFATC Transcription Factors; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D011485:Protein Binding; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D050778:NFATC Transcription Factors; C494006:NFATC2 protein, human; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D004247:DNA