Journal of Virology, February 2009, p. 1538-1543, Vol. 83, No. 3
0022-538X/09/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/JVI.01551-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Paola Massimi, and
Lawrence Banks*
International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Padriciano 99, I-34012 Trieste, Italy
Received 23 July 2008/ Accepted 4 November 2008
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The role of the ubiquitin-proteasome machinery in transcriptional regulation is now well recognized (20), although how it functions most likely varies depending upon the precise promoter complex. It may involve a form of licensing where ubiquitination links the activities of specific transcription factors to their own destruction (26). Alternatively, ubiquitin-modified transcription factors may recruit protein-remodeling factors to the promoter and enhance corepressor/coactivator exchange (7, 21). Specific examples of recruitment and enhancement include the regulation of gene expression by c-myc and steroid hormone receptors (1, 23) as well as the activation of the hTERT promoter by HPV E6, which is dependent on the interaction between E6 and the E6AP ubiquitin ligase (15).
In the case of the HPV promoter and, more specifically, of the function of E2, the involvement of the proteasome in transcriptional regulation has not been documented. In order to investigate this, we first analyzed the effects of proteasome inhibition upon E2 transcriptional activity (8). To do this, U2OS cells were transfected with an E2-responsive luciferase reporter construct (p6xE2BS-Luc/E2-Luc reporter plasmid, kindly provided by Ian Morgan) together with an untagged HPV type 16 (HPV-16) E2 expression plasmid (22). After 24 h, the cells were treated in the presence of 50 µM of the proteasome inhibitor CBZ (Sigma) or dimethyl sulfoxide, as a control, for a further 5 h. Then, the cells were lysed, and their luciferase activity was determined using the Dual-Luciferase assay kit (Promega). The results obtained are shown in Fig. 1a, left panel, and demonstrate a clear inhibition of E2 transcriptional activity following proteasome inhibition. To investigate the specificity of proteasome inhibition on E2 transcriptional activity, we also included a glucocorticoid receptor (GR)-responsive plasmid, MMTV-Luc (kindly provided by Olivier Kassel [10]), which was shown previously to be unaffected by proteasome inhibition (14). Figure 1a, right panel, shows that CBZ did not suppress dexamethasone (Dex)-induced GR transactivation. In the case of other transactivators, such as p53 and E2F, proteasome inhibition did affect their transcriptional activity (data not shown), which is in agreement with previously published data (13, 31).
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FIG. 1. The role of the proteasome machinery in the transcriptional activity of E2. To assess E2 transcriptional activity, luciferase assays were conducted in U2OS cells transfected with a reporter construct containing E2 binding sites upstream of the luciferase gene (E2-Luc), plus the Renilla luciferase gene as a transfection control and an untagged HPV-16 E2 expression plasmid. Representative results of three experiments are shown together with standard deviations. RLA, relative luciferase activity. (a, left) E2 transcriptional activity in the presence or absence of proteasome inhibitors (CBZ). (a, right) The effects of CBZ on Dex-induced GR transactivation. U2OS cells were transfected with GR and MMTV-Luc plasmids and treated with 10 nM Dex (Sigma) for 16 h, followed by treatment with CBZ for a further 5 h. (b) The effects of various ubiquitin ligases on E2 transcriptional activity. Cells were transfected with the reporter plasmids and E2 in the presence of expression plasmids of the indicated ubiquitin ligases.
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The C-terminal end of Mdm2 contains a RING domain conferring E3 ligase activity which mediates its ability to target several proteins for degradation, including p53 (2), pRb (28), and the androgen receptor (9). In addition, the middle region of Mdm2 also contains nuclear export and nuclear localization sequences and was shown to increase the transcriptional activity of a number of factors such as the p53 homolog p63 (3) and estrogen receptor
(25). To further investigate the role of Mdm2 in the transcriptional activity of E2, we repeated the luciferase assay using a point mutant of Mdm2 that no longer has ubiquitin ligase enzymatic activity (Mdm2C462A; kindly provided by Claudio Schneider) and including proteasome inhibition as an additional control. Figure 2a shows again that Mdm2 exerts a potent stimulatory effect upon E2 transcriptional activity and that this is abolished following treatment with CBZ. Most importantly, the Mdm2C462A mutant is also defective in its ability to stimulate E2 transcriptional activity, demonstrating that Mdm2 ubiquitin ligase activity is required for its ability to upregulate the E2 transcriptional activator function.
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FIG. 2. Mdm2 enhances the transcriptional activity of E2. (a) The ubiquitin ligase activity of Mdm2 is required to enhance E2 transcriptional activity. A luciferase assay was conducted in the presence of Mdm2C462A (ligase-dead mutant of Mdm2) and CBZ. RLA, relative luciferase activity. (b) Mdm2 enhances E2-mediated transcriptional activity in SAOS-2 (p53–/– pRb–/–) (left panel) and H1299 (p53–/– pRb+/+) (right panel) cells. Cells were transfected with the reporter construct and an E2 expression vector with or without the expression of Mdm2 as shown in panel a. (c) The transcriptional activity of E2 is reduced in the presence of Mdm2 inhibitors. SAOS-2 cells were transfected as shown in panel b. Five hours prior to harvest, cells were treated with Nutlin-3 (10 µM; Sigma) or Mdm2 E3 ligase inhibitor (10 µM; Calbiochem). (d) The effect of Mdm2 expression on E2 levels was tested by expressing both proteins in U2OS cells. At 24 h after transfection, protein levels were analyzed by Western blotting using antibodies against 16E2 or β-Gal as a transfection control.
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Since we had seen that Mdm2 affects E2 transcriptional activity without affecting its protein expression levels, we then sought to examine whether Mdm2 and E2 can interact. Using an in vitro binding assay, bacterially expressed glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion proteins (6) were incubated with in vitro translated and radiolabeled Mdm2 (as described in reference 8). Figure 3a shows that Mdm2 can bind to GST-16E2, albeit less strongly than it binds to GST-p53; no binding is seen with GST alone. To identify the region of E2 that mediates its interaction with Mdm2, we used a number of GST-tagged E2 fragments, including the N- and C-terminal domains and truncation fragments of the C-terminal domain (Fig. 3b, right). These were previously described in reference 6. Figure 3b shows that E2 binds to Mdm2 mainly through its C-terminal half and, more specifically, through a region spanning amino acid residues 322 to 335.
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FIG. 3. Mdm2 interacts with 16E2 in vitro and in vivo. (a) In vitro-translated and radiolabeled Mdm2 was incubated with bacterially purified GST-tagged E2. GST alone and GST-p53 were included as negative and positive controls, respectively. Bound proteins were analyzed using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and autoradiography. The Coomassie blue stains of the GST inputs are also included in the top panel. An asterisk indicates the full-length GST fusion proteins. (b) Mdm2 binds to the C-terminal region of E2. GST-16E2 and a number of GST-tagged fragments of E2 (right) were incubated with in vitro-translated and radiolabeled Mdm2, and bound proteins were analyzed using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and autoradiography. Fifty percent of the input is included, and the GST inputs are shown in the bottom panel and are stained with Coomassie blue. An asterisk indicates the full-length GSTs. NE2, N-terminal half of E2 protein; CE2, C-terminal half of E2 protein. (c) E2 and Mdm2 bind in vivo. 293 cells were transfected using either Mdm2 alone or Mdm2 with GFP-tagged E2. Cell extracts were immunoprecipitated (IP) using polyclonal anti-GFP antibodies, followed by Western blot analysis using antibodies against Mdm2 or GFP. An asterisk indicates nonspecific bands. -ve, untransfected cells.
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Since the recruitment of ubiquitin ligases to promoters is one means by which the proteasome can be linked directly to transcriptional activation, we examined whether E2 could similarly recruit Mdm2 to the HPV promoter by using a chromatin immunoprecipitation assay (Upstate Biotechnology). 293 cells were transfected with the E2-Luc construct together with GFP-E2 and FLAG-Mdm2 expression constructs (kindly provided by Ian Morgan and Giannino Del Sal, respectively). At 24 h posttransfection, cells were cross-linked with 1% formaldehyde for 10 min at 37°C, lysed, and sonicated to generate 200- to 1,000-bp DNA fragments. Cell lysates were then incubated with the indicated antibodies, and immunoprecipitated complexes were analyzed by PCR to detect protein interaction with DNA. Initially, we verified that GFP-E2 and FLAG-Mdm2 could form a complex in vivo by using anti-FLAG antibodies (M2; Sigma) to immunoprecipitate Mdm2, followed by Western blot analysis using anti-E2 antibodies (17). The results in Fig. 4a again confirm the binding of both proteins in vivo. In parallel, cell extracts were immunoprecipitated using anti-GFP (Clontech), anti-FLAG (Sigma), or anti-HA (Roche) antibodies, and the coprecipitated DNA was analyzed by PCR using primers complementary to sequences present in the luciferase gene (12). The results in Fig. 4b show that, as expected, GFP-E2 binds strongly to DNA that contains E2 binding sites (lane 5). Interestingly, by using anti-FLAG antibodies, we see that Mdm2 coimmunoprecipitates with DNA in the presence of E2 (Fig. 4b, lane 6); in contrast, there is no coimmunoprecipitation of DNA in the absence of E2 (Fig. 4b, lanes 1 through 3) nor when using anti-HA antibodies as a control (Fig. 4b, lane 4). These results strongly suggest that Mdm2 can bind to E2 when it is bound to its cognate DNA recognition sequences.
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FIG. 4. Mdm2 binds to E2 on DNA. (a) FLAG-tagged Mdm2 immunoprecipitates with GFP-tagged E2. 293 cell extracts expressing GFP-E2 with or without the coexpression of FLAG-Mdm2 were immunoprecipitated (IP) using anti-FLAG antibodies, and immunoprecipitated proteins were detected by Western blotting (W.B) using antibodies against E2. -ve, untransfected cells. (b) Mdm2 immunoprecipitates with DNA-bound E2. 293 cells were transfected with a E2-Luc construct along with different combinations of FLAG-Mdm2 and GFP-E2 expression plasmids, and cell extracts were immunoprecipitated using the indicated antibodies. The coprecipitated DNA was analyzed by PCR using primers that are complementary to the luciferase gene.
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Published ahead of print on 12 November 2008. ![]()
Present address: IBR/CONICET, Facultad de Bioquímica, Suipacha 531 (2000), Rosario, Argentina. ![]()
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