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Journal of Virology, September 2008, p. 8476-8486, Vol. 82, No. 17
0022-538X/08/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/JVI.00248-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Peter Pelka,2,
Katie L. Mapp,1
Gregory J. Fonseca,2
Joseph Torchia,3
Andrew S. Turnell,1
Joe S. Mymryk,2 and
Roger J. A. Grand1*
Cancer Research UK Institute for Cancer Studies, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom,1 Departments of Oncology and Microbiology and Immunology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada,2 Departments of Oncology, London Regional Cancer Program, and Biochemistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada3
Received 4 February 2008/ Accepted 27 May 2008
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During viral infection or cellular transformation, AdE1A produces its biological effects through a complex series of protein-protein interactions with host cell targets. Almost all of the binding sites on AdE1A are located either in the N-terminal
-helical domain or in those regions highly conserved between E1As from different virus serotypes (2, 3). AdE1A has been shown to bind in excess of 30 cellular proteins (5, 25). Most of these are involved in transcriptional regulation, the interactions facilitating the progression of infected cells into S phase, and subsequent expression of viral early genes. These binding partners include a family of acetyltransferases, CBP and p300 and pCAF, which bind to the N-terminal region and conserved region 1 (CR1) of E1A. In contrast, members of the Rb family of transcriptional corepressors interact with CR1 and CR2 (1, 19, 20, 34). Adenovirus 5 (Ad5) E1A (Ad5E1A) CR3 corresponds to the sequence unique to the larger 13S protein and is predominantly involved in the regulation of transcription by binding cellular components, such as TBP, ATF2, TBP-associated factors (TAFs), Med23, and proteasome components (7, 26, 27, 35, 42, 59). These interactions are generally required for the expression of adenovirus early region genes. CR3 contains a zinc finger motif with the metal ion chelated to four cysteine residues (17) and is highly conserved in E1As of all virus serotypes (3). Detailed mutational analysis of Ad5 CR3 has shown that the region can be divided into three subdomains. Domain one is used for promoter targeting of E1A through interaction with transcription factors, such as activating transcription factors (ATFs), c-Jun, SP1, and TAFs (9, 10, 26, 36, 37). A second subdomain interacts directly through TBP (35), and a third subdomain of CR3 provides a binding site for the Med 23 component of the Mediator complex (7, 58).
An additional well-characterized interaction of AdE1A is with the C-terminal binding proteins 1 and 2 (CtBP1 and -2), which bind to a highly conserved PXDLS motif close to the C terminus of E1A (6, 44). This interaction appears to facilitate viral infection (28). In transformation assays, it has been shown that the effect of CtBP's interaction with AdE1A is context dependent, such that loss of CtBP binding increases the frequency of transformation by mutant AdE1A and activated ras whereas frequency of transformation by AdE1A and AdE1B is markedly reduced (6, 18, 51, 52).
CtBP is a ubiquitous transcriptional corepressor interacting with a large array of PXDLS-containing proteins, in addition to E1A (for example, see references 16, 46, 54, 55, and 61; reviewed in references 10 to 14 and 56). In Drosophila melanogaster, dCtBP binds to both short- and long-range repressors and is of importance in segmentation and ultimately development (reviewed in reference 11). A CtBP-containing complex has been purified that includes the histone deacetylases (HDACs) 1 and 2, the histone methyltransferase G9A, and lysine demethylase 1 (LSD1) (47, 48, 53). CtBP has also been shown to associate directly with the histone acetyltransferase proteins CBP/p300 (32, 63). Collectively, these studies suggest that CtBP represses transcription by recruiting specific proteins, which in turn modify the chromatin environment.
The vertebrate genome contains two CtBP genes—CtBP1 and CtBP2. In addition, isoforms, RIBEYE and CtBP1-S (also known as CtBP3/BARS), have also been isolated (13). CtBP1 and CtBP2 are highly homologous, and both are similar to the 2-hydroxy-acid dehydrogenase family of proteins (44). CtBP1 has 2-hydroxy-acid dehydrogenase activity and binds NAD(H) (33). Although the functional significance of this activity with respect to its repressor function is unclear, it has been suggested that the interaction with NAD(H) promotes CtBP1 oligomerization and binding to PXDLS-containing proteins (4, 62). Finally, there are functional differences between CtBP1 and CtBP2 in that CtBP1–/– mice are viable whereas CtBP2–/– animals are embryonic lethal (30).
The interaction site on CtBP1 and CtBP2 for PXDLS-containing proteins (and peptides) has been mapped to the N-terminal region. Upon binding, the PXDLS motif becomes buried in a hydrophobic cleft close to the surface (33, 39, 40). Interestingly, a second binding site on CtBP has recently been identified that appears to bind an RRTGXP (RRT) motif present in the zinc finger 217 (ZNF217) protein (40). This second site of interaction on CtBP has been localized to a surface groove distinct from the PXDLS binding cleft (40). ZNF217 contains a PXDLS-like motif, as well as the novel RRT binding sequence, and so it might be supposed that it could interact with both constituents of a CtBP dimer, perhaps modulating other interactions. ZNF217 is a candidate oncogene which is amplified and overexpressed in multiple cancers, such as breast and colon carcinoma (22). It contains eight C2-H2 zinc fingers and belongs to the large family of Krüppel-like transcription factors (38). Protein purification studies have found ZNF217 as a constituent of several related transcriptional corepressor complexes containing the repressor CoREST, HDACs 1 and 2, LSD1, and CtBP (15, 29, 48, 60).
In the present study, we have reinvestigated the relationship of AdE1A and CtBP and have shown that CtBP1 binds to the CR3 region of Ad5E1A, regulating its transcriptional activity. This interaction is quite distinct from that involving the PXDLS motif in exon 2 of AdE1A. In addition, Ad513SE1A forms a multiprotein complex with CtBP1 and ZNF217 and is able to modulate ZNF217 repression properties. These results suggest that the interaction of AdE1A with CtBP1 may have effects on transcriptional activation by recruitment of CR3-bound activators to CtBP1.
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Ad5E1A mutants.
The well-characterized Ad5E1A mutants used in the coimmunoprecipitation studies have been previously described. A novel deletion mutant has a deletion in the CtBP binding site in CR4 (amino acids 279 to 283). The RTP mutant was made by PCR amplification of the 5' end of Ad5E1A 13S using a pair of oligonucleotides (sense, CGACGAATTCATGAGACATATTATCTGC; antisense, CATAATATCTGCGTCCCCCGCATTCGCCCGGTGATAATG) and the 3' end of 13S E1A using another pair of oligonucleotides (sense, TATCACCGGGCGAATGCGGGGGACGCAGATATTATG; antisense, ACTGTCGACTTATGGCCTGGGACGTTTACAGCTC), introducing the mutations at positions 161 (R
A), 164 (T
A), and 167 (P
A). The two resulting PCR products were mixed with addition of two additional oligonucleotides (sense, CGACGAATTCATGAGACATATTATCTGC; antisense, ACTGTCGACTTATGGCCTGGGACGTTTACAGCT) to generate a full-length 13S E1A triple mutant, which was cloned at the EcoRI/XhoI sites of pcDNA3.1. CR3 was PCR amplified from the 13S RTP mutant using the oligonucleotides (sense, AGACGAATTCGGTGAGGAGTTTGTGTTA; antisense, CGCGTCGACTTAGGTAGGTCTTGCAGGCTC), and the PCR product was then cloned into the EcoRI/XhoI sites of the pGEX-4T-1 glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion vector for expression and use in the pull-down assays.
Analytical methods. For pull-down assays from cell lysates, cells were lysed in phosphate-buffered saline containing 1% Triton X-100-2 mM EDTA by sonication. After centrifugation, lysates were incubated for 2 h with GST-proteins or polypeptides; GST-proteins were retrieved after a further 2 h, using glutathione agarose beads. After washing, bound proteins were eluted with 25 mM glutathione (pH 8.0), resolved by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), and identified by Western blotting. CtBP1 was labeled with [35S]methionine after expression using a wheat germ transcription-translation kit (Promega). For binding studies with [35S]methionine-labeled proteins, GST polypeptides (20 µg) were incubated with [35S]methionine-labeled CtBP1 for 2 h. After addition of glutathione agarose beads (70 µl) and rotation for 1 h, bound proteins were eluted with 25 mM glutathione (pH 8.0) and fractionated by SDS-PAGE. Radiolabeled proteins were visualized by fluorography and autoradiography. For immunoprecipitation, cells were harvested in phosphate-buffered saline and lysed in 0.15 M NaCl-50 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.8)-0.5% NP-40. Cell debris was removed by centrifugation, and supernatants were immunoprecipitated with appropriate antibodies and protein A-Sepharose (12.5 µl of beads). Proteins were fractionated by SDS-PAGE and coprecipitating protein identified by Western blotting. In Western blotting studies, CtBP1 was detected with a mouse monoclonal antibody (M1/M18) and CtBP2 with a mouse monoclonal antibody (Pharmingen). Ad5E1A was detected with M58 or M73, anti-FLAG tag with a mouse monoclonal antibody (clone M5 from Sigma), the HA tag with a rat monoclonal antibody from Roche, and the Myc tag with the 9E10 monoclonal antibody.
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FIG. 1. The interaction of CtBP1 with Ad5E1A polypeptides. (a) Dimensions of the Ad5 polypeptides used in pull-down experiments. (b) [35S]methionine-labeled CtBP1 was incubated with the GST-Ad5E1A fusion proteins and polypeptides shown (20 µg). Complexes were isolated with glutathione agarose and fractionated by SDS-PAGE. Radiolabeled proteins were identified by fluorography and autoradiography. Input represents 10% of that used in the experiment. A Coomassie blue-stained version of the gel is shown in the lower panel. (c) GST-Ad5E1A proteins or polypeptides as shown (20 µg) were incubated with HCT116 or HT29 cell lysates. Protein complexes were isolated using glutathione agarose and bound CtBP1 and CtBP2 identified by Western blotting. A Ponceau S-stained Western blot, showing the amount of fusion proteins used in the pull down, is shown in the lower panel. (d) [35S]-methionine-labeled CtBP1 was incubated with the GST-Ad5E1A fusion polypeptides shown. Complexes were isolated with glutathione agarose and fractionated by SDS-PAGE. Input represents 5% of that used in the experiment. A Coomassie blue-stained version of the gel is shown in the lower panel. (e) GST-Ad5E1A polypeptides as shown were incubated with HT29 and HCT116 cell lysates as for panel c. Bound CtBPs were identified by Western blotting. (f) HeLa cells were transfected with FLAG-tagged CtBP1 and Myc-tagged GFP or Myc-tagged GFP-CR3. After 24 h, CtBP1 was immunoprecipitated (IP) and coprecipitating GFP or GFP-CR3 identified by Western blotting.
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Binding site for CtBP1 in Ad5CR3. To determine to what extent this interaction occurs with CR3 regions from other adenovirus serotypes, [35S]methionine-labeled CtBP1 was incubated with various purified GST-CR3 regions (Fig. 2a). A strong direct interaction of CtBP1 with GST-Ad5CR3 was observed. However, binding to the CR3 regions from other virus serotypes was weaker, or it was much reduced in the case of GST-Ad3CR3. The preference for the Ad5 construct suggested that the amino acid sequence RRNTGDP (amino acids 161 to 167), which is very similar to the recently determined, novel CtBP binding site found in ZNF217, RIZ, and ZNF516, may be responsible for the interaction (40). Comparable sequences in CR3 regions from non-subgroup C viruses are rather less similar in that the second arginine residue identified as necessary for ZNF217 interaction with CtBP is not present (Fig. 2b). Similarly, the proline residue is present only in the group F CR3 region.
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FIG. 2. Binding of CtBP1 to AdE1A conserved region 3. (a) [35S]methionine-labeled CtBP1 was incubated with the CR3 regions of AdE1As from different viral serotypes, expressed as GST fusion proteins (20 µg). Ad5, Ad9, Ad4, Ad3, Ad40, and Ad12 are representatives of the group C, D, E, B:1, F and A human adenoviruses, respectively (2, 3). Protein complexes were isolated using glutathione agarose and fractionated by SDS-PAGE. Radiolabeled proteins were identified by fluorography and autoradiography. A Coomassie blue-stained version of the gel is shown in the lower panel. (b) Comparison of the amino acid sequences of portions of CR3s from different adenovirus serotypes. The sequence of the novel CtBP binding site from ZNF217 is also shown. (c) GST-Ad5CR3 polypeptides (with various deletions) were incubated with [35S]methionine-labeled CtBP1. Protein complexes were isolated using glutathione agarose, fractionated by SDS-PAGE, and visualized by fluorography and autoradiography. Input represents 10% of that used in the experiment. A Coomassie blue-stained version of the gel is shown in the lower panel.
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To confirm that binding of CR3 to CtBP1 does not involve the hydrophobic cleft of CtBP1 located toward the N terminus of the protein, which is the site of interaction for the PXDLS motif, pull-down assays were performed in the presence of added peptide (sequence REQTVPVDLSVKRPR) identical to the C-terminal region of Ad12E1A containing a PVDLS motif. It can be seen that the peptide inhibits the interaction between CtBP1 and GST-exon 2 (Fig. 3). However, the addition of peptide to CtBP1/CR3 mixtures had little effect on the interaction (Fig. 3). Taken together, these data and those presented in Fig. 1 show that a unique motif in Ad5CR3 binds directly to CtBP1 (and presumably CtBP2) and that this interaction is quite unrelated to the PXDLS motif in terms of both AdE1A and the binding site on CtBP. This observation raises the intriguing possibility that the 13S-encoded E1A proteins may have different effects on CtBP function than those observed with 12S.
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FIG. 3. Ad5CR3 does not bind to the N-terminal region of CtBP1 normally associated with PXDLS-containing peptide interaction. GST-Ad5E1ACR3 and GST-Ad5E1A exon 2 were incubated with [35S]methionine-labeled CtBP1 in the presence of various concentrations of a PXDLS-containing peptide (REQTVPVDLSVKRPR) (as shown). Protein complexes were isolated using glutathione agarose and fractionated by SDS-PAGE. Radiolabeled proteins were identified by fluorography and autoradiography. A Coomassie blue-stained version of the gel is shown in the lower panel.
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FIG. 4. Reduction of available CtBP enhances transcriptional activity of the CR3 domain of Ad5E1A. (a) CtBP1 and CtBP2 expression was reduced in A549 cells using appropriate siRNAs (shown by Western blotting in the inset). Control cells were transfected with a nonspecific control siRNA. After 3 days, cells were transfected with pcDNA3-GAL4-DBD and a GAL4-responsive luciferase reporter or pcDNA3-GAL4 DBD-Ad5CR3 and a GAL4-responsive luciferase reporter. After 24 h, luciferase activity was measured. (b) U2OS cells were cotransfected with a GAL-luciferase reporter plasmid and either with a plasmid expressing GAL4-DBD or the indicated GAL4-DBD fusion to Ad5E1A 1 to 82 or CR3 together with a plasmid expressing Ad5E1A exon 2 or the exon 2 PLDLS mutant. Cells were harvested 24 h after transfection, and luciferase assays were performed and normalized using β-galactosidase.
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PLDLS construct enhances the interaction to a limited extent whereas the 12S
PLDLS construct does not. This could be through the interaction of CtBP with 13SCR3. This result indicates that an intact PLDLS motif in E1A is required for the potentiation of the interaction between CtBP and ZNF217 and indicates that the association between ZNF217 and E1A is indirect, such that when E1A cannot bind to CtBP, it does not associate with ZNF217.
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FIG. 5. Ad5E1A, CtBP1, and ZNF217 form a ternary complex. HeLa cells were transfected with constructs encoding ZNF217 (HA tagged), CtBP1 (FLAG tagged), and Ad5E1A as shown. (a) Samples were immunoprecipitated with an antibody against CtBP (FLAG tag) and Western blotted for Ad5E1A and ZNF217. Levels of expression of ZNF217, E1A, and CtBP are shown. (b) Samples cotransfected with E1A and CtBP were immunoprecipitated for CtBP (FLAG tag) and Western blotted for Ad5E1A. Levels of E1A and CtBP are shown. (c) HeLa cells were cotransfected with E1A, CtBP (FLAG tag), and ZNF217 (HA tag). Lysates were immunoprecipitated for CtBP (FLAG tag) and Western blotted for ZNF217. Levels of CtBP, ZNF217, and E1A are shown.
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FIG. 6. Ad513SE1A relieves transcriptional repression by ZNF217. U2OS cells were transfected with pM-GAL4-DBD and a GAL4-responsive luciferase reporter or pM-GAL4-ZNF217 and a GAL4-responsive luciferase reporter. In addition, various Ad5E1A constructs were cotransfected. Luciferase activity was measured after 48 h. Transfections were normalized for efficiency of transfection using β-galactosidase. (a) Cotransfection of Ad512S and 13S E1A and the RTP substitution mutant. (b) Cotransfection of Ad513S E1A and a novel mutant with deletion of just the PLDLS motif from Ad513S E1A. "Vector" refers to cotransfection of the reporter, the indicated GAL4 fusion, and an empty plasmid. The level of expression of Ad5E1A and actin in the cells is shown in the insert panels.
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PLDLS mutant did not activate (Fig. 7). Ad512SE1A also did not activate the E-cadherin reporter under these conditions, indicating an essential role for CR3 in activation. These results, using a cellular promoter and endogenous repressive factors, parallel those seen using the synthetic Gal4-ZNF217 reporter. We suggest that wild-type Ad513SE1A is recruited to the promoter through interaction with CtBP; reporter activity is then increased by the action of transcription factors associated with CR3. Deletion of the high-affinity CtBP binding site in the C terminus of E1A negates the increase in reporter activity.
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FIG. 7. Ad513SE1A and Ad512SE1A differentially influence the E-cadherin promoter. HeLa cells were cotransfected with an E-cadherin reporter plasmid and either empty vector or vectors expressing the indicated E1As, as well as a β-galactosidase plasmid for normalization. Twenty-four hours after transfection, luciferase assays were performed and the results were normalized.
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Evidence presented here (Fig. 1 and 2) demonstrates that CR3 also provides a site of interaction for CtBP1 and CtBP2 and that binding requires the integrity of most of the CR3 sequence. Deletions in both the N- and C-terminal and central regions disrupt this interaction. It appears that the CtBP interaction site overlaps binding sites for the transcriptional activators TBP, Med 23, multiple TAF components of TFIID, and proteasomal components (Fig. 2c). Whether individual Ad13SE1A molecules bind several of these proteins at the same time is not yet clear, but this may be the case, allowing gradations of activation. Significantly, the sequence RRNTGDP (amino acids 161 to 167 in Ad5E1A), which is homologous to the novel CtBP binding site recently identified in ZNF217 (Fig. 2b), appears to be partially responsible for the interaction with E1A (40), since the GST-CR3 fusion polypeptide in which highly conserved R, T, and P residues were mutated to alanines had reduced affinity for CtBP (Fig. 2). However, we presume that if this comprised the only specific binding site, mutation would eradicate binding completely. We suggest that there is another point of contact (binding site) for CtBP elsewhere in CR3, since all the other deletions in the region reduce binding. It is notable that all of the mutations in the CR3 polypeptides used in the pull-down study have appreciable effects on their predicted secondary structures, decreasing or increasing the extent of
-helix or β-sheet (data not shown). Thus, the loss of particular residues, as well as the marked changes in (predicted) structures, makes it very difficult to predict precise sites of interaction.
CtBP has previously been known to interact with other zinc finger-containing proteins, but this has generally been through PXDLS motifs or comparable sequences (40, 43, 57). Interaction of CtBP with sequences unrelated to PXDLS has also been observed previously. However, in these cases specific binding sites have not been defined unequivocally. Whether these other sites are homologous to the CR3 region is not clear at present. It is notable that CtBP is bound most strongly by Ad5CR3 and to a lesser extent by the regions of other serotypes. Why this is a feature predominantly of Ad5 remains to be determined, since the CR3 regions are highly conserved in all serotypes (3).
It is now well established that CtBP1 is a component of a repression complex which also contains HDACs, HPC2, a SUMO E3 ligase, LSD1, a histone demethylase, a nuclear enyol-coenzyme A hydratase, and assorted transcription factors (reviewed in reference 49). Some of the interactions are considered to be mediated through a PXDLS motif binding to an N-terminal hydrophobic cleft in CtBP, although others may be indirect. It is therefore likely that the gain in transcriptional activity of the CR3-GAL4 reporter when CtBP expression was reduced (or "negated" by excess exon 2) (Fig. 4) could be attributed to the dissociation of this repressor complex. Although recruitment of repressors to what has previously been considered to be a transcriptional activation domain may seem somewhat counterintuitive, recent studies have suggested that the level of transcriptional activation is combinatorial and is dependent on the repertoire of coactivators and corepressors targeted by a specific promoter in a context-dependent fashion. It is notable, however, that recent evidence suggests that CtBP can play a role in transcriptional activation. For example, dCtBP can activate transcription of particular wg (Drosophila Wnt) target genes while repressing others (23). Similarly, knockout of mouse CtBP2 decreases expression of Brachyury (30).
In view of the interaction between CtBP1 and Ad5CR3, the effect of Ad5E1A on the association of CtBP1 with the transcriptional repressor ZNF217 has been examined. Although ZNF217 does not appear to bind AdE1A directly (data not shown), it is clear that the viral protein facilitates the association of CtBP1 and ZNF217. This contrasts with the current model of E1A action, in which the PLDLS motif in E1A competes with cellular proteins for interaction with CtBP, leading to derepression of transcription from CtBP-repressed genes. Although this is an unexpected result, a comparable situation has been reported previously, with AdE1A increasing the association of CtBP2 with ZEB, G9a, and p300 (63). ZNF217 is a well-characterized candidate oncogene which is overexpressed in multiple human cancers (reviewed in reference 41). It has been shown to associate with transcriptional repressors, possibly through CtBP, and to repress transcription of, for example, the E-cadherin promoter (15). It is clear that the association of ZNF217 with CtBP1 is much more pronounced in the presence of Ad513SE1A than in that of the 12S protein (Fig. 5). Furthermore, it has been shown that 13SE1A binds CtBP1 with higher affinity than the 12S protein (Fig. 5b). We suggest that this increased interaction is due to a second CtBP binding site in the larger protein, located in CR3. It is possible, however, that the structural stability imparted by the zinc finger motif in the 13S protein, together with other structural constraints due to the CR3 region itself, could modify various structural elements in AdE1A such that the PXDLS motif and the surrounding amino acid sequence in exon 2 have a structure favoring tighter binding. The data presented in Fig. 5 suggest the presence of a ternary complex of CtBP1, Ad513SE1A, and ZNF217. One molecule of a CtBP1 dimer could bind AdE1A, with the other component of the dimer binding to ZNF217. Alternatively, ZNF217 could bind to CtBP1 through its RRT motif while AdE1A binds through the PLDLS sequence. A third possibility is that ZNF217 could bind CtBP1 through its PXDLS and RRT motifs while AdE1A could bind through CR3 to an as yet unknown region of CtBP1. It appears, however, that the CtBP1 binding site in CR3 is not sufficient to maintain the AdE1A/CtBP interaction in the absence of the PLDLS motif, nor to allow stabilization of ZNF217/CtBP1/AdE1A (Fig. 5). Maximal stabilization requires the presence of both PLDLS and CR3.
Significantly, the AdE1A 13S protein can strongly activate transcription via the GAL4-ZNF217 motif. This is presumably not mediated by simply dissociating ZNF217 from a CtBP repressor complex but is more likely due to recruitment of transcriptional activators through CR3 or somehow results from interaction of CR3 with CtBP. Additional weight is given to this argument by the observation that the Ad12SE1A protein reverses the repression of the reporter by GAL4-ZNF217, indicating that CtBP binding via the PLDLS motif per se, in this case, does not have a significant effect (Fig. 6). This observation is especially significant, since it indicates for the first time that different isoforms of E1A have notably different effects on CtBP function. The ability of Ad513SE1A, but not Ad512SE1A, to activate a specific CtBP-repressed promoter, in this case E-cadherin, through recruitment via CtBP is confirmed by the reporter assay presented in Fig. 7. These observations provide further evidence of the importance of the CtBP/AdE1A interaction to the widespread effects of E1A on transcriptional regulation and further confirm that various isoforms of E1A influence CtBP function differentially.
It is reasonable to suppose that AdE1A could target CtBP binding proteins such as ZNF217 during viral infection (and perhaps during transformation) to reduce its transcriptional repressor properties. Furthermore, the data presented here raise the novel possibility that the interaction of 13SE1A with CtBP could be required for strong transcriptional activation of at least a subset of genes rather than blocking CtBP-dependent repression as described for the current model of E1A function.
In summary, we have identified a novel second binding site between AdE1A and CtBP, which is localized within CR3, a transcriptional activation region unique to the larger 13SE1A product. Binding is independent of the C-terminal PXDLS motif but probably requires an RTP motif, previously identified in several cellular proteins, which confers binding to CtBP, as well as other regions of CR3. This strong CR3-dependent interaction is unique to Ad5E1A of the six adenovirus serotypes tested. Furthermore, we have demonstrated the requirement for the integrity of virtually all of CR3 for recruitment of CtBP1 and CtBP2 and have shown that this interaction reduced CR3-dependent transcriptional activation. It is probable that the action of CtBP, together with multiple activators, is required for subtlety of transcriptional regulation by E1A. Additionally, Ad513SE1A, but not the 12S protein, favors the association of CtBP1 with ZNF217. While Ad512SE1A also derepresses a ZNF217 luciferase reporter construct, Ad513S strongly activated transcription. We suggest that these interactions are required for the subtle modulation of transcriptional activation by AdE1A during viral infection.
Published ahead of print on 4 June 2008. ![]()
These authors contributed equally to this research. ![]()
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