title: Schizosaccharomyces pombe positive cofactor 4 stimulates basal transcription from TATA-containing and TATA-less promoters through Mediator and transcription factor IIA.
abstract: The positive cofactor 4 (PC4) protein has an important role in transcriptional activation, which has been proposed to be mediated by transcription factor IIA (TFIIA) and TATA-binding protein-associated factors. To test this hypothesis, we cloned the Schizosaccharomyces pombe PC4 gene and analysed the role of the PC4 protein in the stimulation of basal transcription driven by TATA-containing and TATA-less promoters. Sc. pombe PC4 was able to stimulate basal transcription from several TATA-containing promoters and from the Initiator sequences of the highly transcribed Sc. pombe nmt1 gene. Moreover, it was demonstrated that Sc. pombe PC4 stimulates formation of the transcription preinitiation complex. Activation of transcription by PC4 was dependent on the Mediator complex and TFIIA, but was independent of TATA-binding protein-associated factor. PC4 binds to double-stranded and single-stranded DNA and interacts with TATA-binding protein, TFIIB, TFIIA, Mediator, TFIIH and the transcriptional activator protein VP16.
authors.affiliation: Programa de Biología Celular y Molecular, Facultad de Medicina, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Contreras-Levicoy
authors.forename: Fabiola
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Urbina
authors.forename: Edio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Maldonado
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded / Q000737:chemistry; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; D017405:Herpes Simplex Virus Protein Vmw65 / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D025941:Protein Interaction Mapping; D012568:Schizosaccharomyces / Q000378:metabolism*; D029702:Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D016385:TATA Box; D035561:Transcription Factor TFIIA / Q000737:chemistry; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D015533:Transcriptional Activation
chemical_list: D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D017405:Herpes Simplex Virus Protein Vmw65; D029702:Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins; D035561:Transcription Factor TFIIA; C529958:positive cofactor 4, S pombe