Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P51532 (transcriptional activator)
6,546 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

GCN4 is a transcriptional activator in the bZIP family that regulates amino acid biosynthetic genes in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Previous work suggested that the principal activation domain of GCN4 is a highly acidic segment of approximately 40 amino acids located in the center of the protein. We conducted a mutational analysis of GCN4 with a single-copy allele expressed under the control of the native promoter and translational control elements. Our results indicate that GCN4 contains two activation domains of similar potency that can function independently to promote high-level transcription of the target genes HIS3 and HIS4. One of these domains is coincident with the acidic activation domain defined previously; the other extends over the N-terminal one-third of the protein. Both domains are partially dependent on the coactivator protein ADA2. Each domain appears to be composed of two or more small subdomains that have additive effects on transcription and that can cooperate in different combinations to promote high-level expression of HIS3 and HIS4. At least three of these subdomains are critically dependent on bulky hydrophobic amino acids for their function. Five of the important hydrophobic residues, Phe-97, Phe-98, Met-107, Tyr-110, and Leu-113, fall within a region of proposed sequence homology between GCN4 and the herpesvirus acidic activator VP16. The remaining three residues, Trp-120, Leu-123, and Phe-124, are highly conserved between GCN4 and its Neurospora counterpart, cpc-1. Because of the functional redundancy in the activation domain, mutations at positions 97 and 98 must be combined with mutations at positions 120 to 124 to observe a substantial reduction in activation by full-length GCN4, and substitution of all eight hydrophobic residues was required to inactivate full-length GCN4. These hydrophobic residues may mediate important interactions between GCN4 and one or more of its target proteins in the transcription initiation complex.
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PMID:The transcriptional activator GCN4 contains multiple activation domains that are critically dependent on hydrophobic amino acids. 786 16

The ada gene of Escherichia coli K-12 encodes the 39-kDa Ada protein, which consists of two domains joined by a hinge region that is sensitive to proteolytic cleavage in vitro. The amino-terminal domain has a DNA methyltransferase activity that repairs the S-diastereoisomer of methylphosphotriesters while the carboxyl-terminal domain has a DNA methyltransferase activity that repairs O6-methylguanine and O4-methylthymine lesions. Transfer of a methyl group to Cys-69 by repair of a methylphosphotriester lesion converts Ada into a transcriptional activator of the ada and alkA genes. Activation of ada, but not alkA, requires elements contained within the carboxyl-terminal domain of Ada. In addition, physiologically relevant concentrations of the unmethylated form of Ada specifically inhibit methylated Ada-promoted ada transcription both in vitro and in vivo and it has been suggested that this phenomenon plays a pivotal role in the down-regulation of the adaptive response. A set of site-directed mutations were generated within the hinge region, changing the lysine residue at position 178 to leucine, valine, glycine, tyrosine, arginine, cysteine, proline, and serine. All eight mutant proteins have deficiencies in their ability to activate ada transcription in the presence or absence of a methylating agent but are proficient in alkA activation. AdaK178P (lysine 178 changed to proline) is completely defective for the transcriptional activation function of ada while it is completely proficient for transcriptional activation of alkA. In addition, AdaK178P possesses both classes of DNA repair activities both in vitro and in vivo. Transcriptional activation of ada does not occur if both the amino- and carboxyl-terminal domains are produced separately within the same cell. The mutation at position 178 might interfere with activation of ada transcription by changing a critical contact with RNA polymerase, by causing a conformational change of Ada, or by interfering with the communication of conformational information between the amino- and the carboxyl-terminal domains. These results indicate that the hinge region of Ada is important for ada but not alkA transcription and further support the notion that the mechanism(s) by which Ada activates ada transcription differs from that by which it activates transcription at alkA.
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PMID:Alteration of lysine 178 in the hinge region of the Escherichia coli ada protein interferes with activation of ada, but not alkA, transcription. 786 1

The p53 tumor suppressor gene product is a transcriptional activator that may be associated with its ability to suppress tumor cell growth. The acidic amino terminus of the p53 protein has been shown to contain this trans-activation activity as well as the domains for mdm-2 and adenovirus 5 E1B 55-kD protein binding. An extensive genetic analysis of this amino-terminal p53 domain has been undertaken using site-specific mutagenesis. The results demonstrate that the acidic residues in the amino terminus of p53 may contribute to, but are not critical for, this trans-activation activity. Rather, the hydrophobic amino acid residues Leu-22 and Trp-23 of human p53 are both required for trans-activation activity, binding to the adenovirus E1B 55-kD protein and the human mdm-2-p53 protein in vitro. In addition, hydrophobic residues Leu-14 and Phe-19 are crucial for the interactions between p53 and human mdm-2 (hdm-2). Hydrophobic residues Trp-23 and Pro-27 are also important for binding to the adenovirus 5 (Ad5) E1B 55-kD protein in vitro. These mutations have no impact on the ability of the p53 protein to bind to a p53-specific DNA element. These results suggest that 2-4 critical hydrophobic residues in the amino-terminal domain of the p53 protein interact with the transcriptional machinery of the cell resulting in transcriptional activation. These very same hydrophobic residues contact the hdm-2 and Ad5 E1B 55-kD oncogene products.
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PMID:Several hydrophobic amino acids in the p53 amino-terminal domain are required for transcriptional activation, binding to mdm-2 and the adenovirus 5 E1B 55-kD protein. 792 27

The bel1 gene of human spumaretrovirus (HSRV) encodes a 300-amino-acid nuclear protein termed Bel1 that is a potent activator of transcription from the cognate long terminal repeat (LTR). Bel1 can also efficiently activate the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) LTR. We have previously shown that the amino-terminal 227-residue region (minimal activator region) of Bel1 can activate the HSRV LTR at low levels and that two distinct domains within the carboxy-terminal 73 residues, from residues 255 to 266 and 272 to 300, that bear little sequence homology can independently enhance the activity of the minimal activator domain (L. K. Venkatesh, C. Yang, P. A. Theodorakis, and G. Chinnadurai, J. Virol. 67:161-169, 1993). We now report on the further characterization of these two transcriptional enhancement regions. Mutational analysis of the region comprising residues 255 to 266 indicates that a cluster of leucine residues is critical to the function of this region. Also, residues 273 to 287, which are identical in sequence to a 15-amino-acid segment near the carboxy terminus of the simian foamy virus transcriptional activator Taf, can independently enhance the activity of the minimal activator region. To delineate the region(s) of Bel1 that could function autonomously as an activator domain, we tested the activity of chimeric proteins comprising either wild-type or functionally defective forms of Bel1 fused to the DNA binding domain, Gal4(1-147), of the yeast transcriptional activator Gal4 on a synthetic promoter comprising Gal4 DNA binding sites linked to the adenovirus E1B TATA box (minimal promoter). Gal4-Bel1 was found to activate basal transcription from the E1B TATA box at least 35-fold, and the region responsible for this activation function was localized to the carboxy-terminal 73 amino acids. When the transcriptional enhancement regions were tested for autonomous activator function as Gal4(1-147) chimeras, residues 272 to 300, but not 255 to 266, were found to activate transcription efficiently when targeted to the E1B TATA motif and also to HSRV and HIV-1 LTRs. The highly conserved region between amino acids 273 and 287 alone was found to activate transcription efficiently when targeted to the HSRV LTR but not to the E1B TATA box or the HIV-1 LTR. Thus, our results demonstrate that the carboxy-terminal 29-amino-acid region (residues 272 to 300) contributes to Bel1 transactivation by functioning as an autonomous activator of TATA motif-directed transcription in a manner similar to that of other modular transcriptional activators.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:The carboxy-terminal transcription enhancement region of the human spumaretrovirus transactivator contains discrete determinants of the activator function. 838 9

Active E1 component of Pseudomonas putida branched-chain-oxoacid dehydrogenase was purified from P. putida strains carrying pJRS84 which contains bkdR (encoding the transcriptional activator) and bkdA1 and bkdA2 (encoding the alpha and beta subunits). Expression was inducible, however, 45-, 39- and 37-kDa proteins were produced instead of the expected 45-kDa and 37-kDa proteins. The 45-kDa protein was identified as E1 alpha and the 37-kDa and 39-kDa proteins were identified as separate translational products of bkdA2 by their N-terminal sequences. The N-terminal amino acid of the 39-kDa protein was leucine instead of methionine. The 45-, 39- and 37-kDa proteins were also produced in wild-type P.putida. Translation of bkdA1 and bkdA2 from an Escherichia coli expression plasmid produced only 45-kDa and 39-kDa proteins, with N-terminal methionine on the 39-kDa protein. The insertion of guanine residues 5' to the first ATG of bkdA2 did not affect expression of E1 beta in P. putida including the N-terminal leucine which appears to eliminate the possibility of ribosome jumping. The Z-average molecular mass of the E1 component was determined by sedimentation equilibrium to be 172 +/- 9 kDa compared to a calculated value of 166 kDa for the heterotetramer and a Stokes radius of 5.1 nm. E1 alpha Ser313, which is homologous to the phosphorylated residue of rat liver E1 alpha, was converted to alanine resulting in about a twofold increase in Km, but no change in Kcat. S315A and S319A mutations had no effect on Km or Kcat indicating that these residues do not play a major part in catalysis of E1 alpha beta 2.
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PMID:Purification of active E1 alpha 2 beta 2 of Pseudomonas putida branched-chain-oxoacid dehydrogenase. 852 48

Bleomycin belongs to a class of antitumor drugs that damage cellular DNA through the production of free radicals. The molecular basis by which eukaryotic cells provide resistance to the lethal effects of bleomycin is not clear. Using the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model with which to study the effect of bleomycin damage on cellular DNA, we isolated several mutants that display hypersensitivity to bleomycin. A DNA clone containing the IMP2 gene that complemented the most sensitive bleomycin mutant was identified. A role for IMP2 in defense against the toxic effects of bleomycin has not been previously reported. imp2 null mutants were constructed and were found to be 15-fold more sensitive to bleomycin than wild-type strains. The imp2 null mutants were also hypersensitive to several oxidants but displayed parental resistance to UV light and methyl methane sulfonate. Exposure of mutants to either bleomycin or hydrogen peroxide resulted in the accumulation of strand breaks in the chromosomal DNA, which remained even after 6 h postchallenge, but not in the wild type. These results suggest that the oxidant hypersensitivity of the imp2 mutant results from a defect in the repair of oxidative DNA lesions. Molecular analysis of IMP2 indicates that it encodes a transcriptional activator that can activate a reporter gene via an acidic domain located at the N terminus. Imp2 lacks a DNA binding motif, but it possesses a C-terminal leucine-rich repeat. With these data taken together, we propose that Imp2 prevents oxidative damage by regulating the expression of genes that are directly required to repair DNA damage.
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PMID:The Saccharomyces cerevisiae IMP2 gene encodes a transcriptional activator that mediates protection against DNA damage caused by bleomycin and other oxidants. 862 75

The visna virus Tat protein is a strong transcriptional activator and is necessary for efficient viral replication. The Tat protein regulates transcription through an AP-1 site proximal to the TATA box within the viral long terminal repeat (LTR). Previous studies from our laboratory using Tat-Gal4 chimeric proteins showed that Tat has a potent acidic activation domain. Furthermore, a region adjacent to the Tat activation domain contains a highly conserved leucine-rich domain which, in the context of the full-length protein, suppressed the activity of the activation domain. To further elucidate the role of this region, four leucine residues within this region of Tat were mutated. In transient-transfection assays using visna virus LTR-CAT as a reporter construct, the activity of this leucine mutant was dramatically reduced. Additionally, domain-swapping experiments using the N-terminal activation domain of VP16 showed that the leucine-rich domain of Tat confers AP-1 responsiveness to the chimeric VP16-Tat protein. A chimeric VP16-Tat construct containing the leucine mutations showed no increased AP-1 responsiveness in comparison with that of the VP16 activation domain alone. Furthermore, in competition experiments, a Gal4-Tat protein containing only the leucine region of Tat (amino acids 34 to 62) was able to inhibit by competition the activity of full-length Tat. These studies strongly suggest that this leucine-rich domain is responsible for targeting the Tat protein to AP-1 sites in the viral LTR. In addition, examination of the amino acid sequence of this region of Tat revealed a highly helical secondary structure and a pattern of residues similar to that in the leucine zippers in the bZIP family of DNA-binding proteins. This has important implications for the interaction of Tat with cellular proteins, specifically Fos and Jun, that contain bZIP domains.
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PMID:The leucine domain of the visna virus Tat protein mediates targeting to an AP-1 site in the viral long terminal repeat. 867 56

The product of the Escherichia coli aidB gene is homologous to human isovaleryl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase (IVD), an enzyme involved in the breakdown of the amino acid leucine. The aidB gene is not expressed constitutively, but its transcription is induced via distinct mechanisms in response to: (i) exposure to alkylating agents; (ii) acetate at a slightly acidic pH; and (iii) anoxia. Induction by alkylating agents is mediated by the transcriptional activator Ada, in its methylated form (meAda); the other forms of induction are Ada independent and require sigma s, the alternative sigma factor mainly expressed during the stationary phase of bacterial growth. In this report we show that, in the absence of any transcriptional factor, aidB is efficiently transcribed in vitro by the sigma s, but not by the sigma 70, form of RNA polymerase holoenzyme. In the presence of meAda, levels of transcription by both forms of RNA polymerase are significantly increased. However, sigma s-dependent transcription of aidB is inhibited both in vitro and in vivo by binding of the transcriptional regulator Lrp (leucine responsive protein) to the aidB promoter region (PaidB). Lrp acts as a specific repressor for sigma s-dependent transcription of aidB. Leucine counteracts Lrp binding to P aidB, as does binding to P aidB of me Ada, which causes Lrp to dissociate from the promoter. The physiological significance of aidB transcription regulation is discussed.
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PMID:The leucine-responsive regulatory protein (Lrp) acts as a specific repressor for sigma s-dependent transcription of the Escherichia coli aidB gene. 880 48

GCN4 is a transcriptional activator in the bZIP family that regulates amino acid biosynthetic genes in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The N-terminal 100 amino acids of GCN4 contains a potent activation function that confers high-level transcription in the absence of the centrally located acidic activation domain (CAAD) delineated in previous studies. To identify specific amino acids important for activation by the N-terminal domain, we mutagenized a GCN4 allele lacking the CAAD and screened alleles in vivo for reduced expression of the HIS3 gene. We found four pairs of closely spaced phenylalanines and a leucine residue distributed throughout the N-terminal 100 residues of GCN4 that are required for high-level activation in the absence of the CAAD. Trp, Leu, and Tyr were highly functional substitutions for the Phe residue at position 45. Combined with our previous findings, these results indicate that GCN4 contains seven clusters of aromatic or bulky hydrophobic residues which make important contributions to transcriptional activation at HIS3. None of the seven hydrophobic clusters is essential for activation by full-length GCN4, and the critical residues in two or three clusters must be mutated simultaneously to observe a substantial reduction in GCN4 function. Numerous combinations of four or five intact clusters conferred high-level transcription of HIS3. We propose that many of the hydrophobic clusters in GCN4 act independently of one another to provide redundant means of stimulating transcription and that the functional contributions of these different segments are cumulative at the HIS3 promoter. On the basis of the primacy of bulky hydrophobic residues throughout the activation domain, we suggest that GCN4 contains multiple sites that mediate hydrophobic contacts with one or more components of the transcription initiation machinery.
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PMID:Identification of seven hydrophobic clusters in GCN4 making redundant contributions to transcriptional activation. 881 68

C1 is a transcriptional activator of genes encoding biosynthetic enzymes of the maize anthocyanin pigment pathway. C1 has an amino terminus homologous to Myb DNA-binding domains and an acidic carboxyl terminus that is a transcriptional activation domain in maize and yeast cells. To identify amino acids critical for transcriptional activation, an extensive random mutagenesis of the C1 carboxyl terminus was done. The C1 activation domain is remarkably tolerant of amino acid substitutions, as changes at 34 residues had little or no effect on transcriptional activity. These changes include introduction of helix-incompatible amino acids throughout the C1 activation domain and alteration of most single acidic amino acids, suggesting that a previously postulated amphipathic alpha-helix is not required for activation. Substitutions at two positions revealed amino acids important for transcriptional activation. Replacement of leucine 253 with a proline or glutamine resulted in approximately 10% of wild-type transcriptional activation. Leucine 253 is in a region of C1 in which several hydrophobic residues align with residues important for transcriptional activation by the herpes simplex virus VP16 protein. However, changes at all other hydrophobic residues in C1 indicate that none are critical for C1 transcriptional activation. The other important amino acid in C1 is aspartate 262, as a change to valine resulted in only 24% of wild-type transcriptional activation. Comparison of our C1 results with those from VP16 reveal substantial differences in which amino acids are required for transcriptional activation in vivo by these two acidic activation domains.
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PMID:Extensive mutagenesis of a transcriptional activation domain identifies single hydrophobic and acidic amino acids important for activation in vivo. 897 91


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