Identification of TATA-binding Protein-free TAFII-containing Complex Subunits Suggests a Role in Nucleosome Acetylation and Signal Transduction

doi:10.1074/jbc.274.26.18285

Identification of TATA-binding Protein-free TAF_II-containing Complex Subunits Suggests a Role in Nucleosome Acetylation and Signal Transduction*

From the Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, CNRS/INSERM/Université Louis Pasteur BP 163-67404 Illkirch Cedex, CU de Strasbourg, France

Abstract

Recently we identified a novel human (h) multiprotein complex, called TATA-binding protein (TBP)-free TAF_II-containing complex (TFTC), which is able to nucleate RNA polymerase II transcription and can mediate transcriptional activation. Here we demonstrate that TFTC, similar to other TBP-free TAF_II complexes (yeast SAGA, hSTAGA, and hPCAF) contains the acetyltransferase hGCN5 and is able to acetylate histones in both a free and a nucleosomal context. The recently described TRRAP cofactor for oncogenic transcription factor pathways was also characterized as a TFTC subunit. Furthermore, we identified four other previously uncharacterized subunits of TFTC: hADA3, hTAF_II150, hSPT3, and hPAF65β. Thus, the polypeptide composition of TFTC suggests that TFTC is recruited to chromatin templates by activators to acetylate histones and thus may potentiate initiation and activation of transcription.

Footnotes

↵* This work was supported by funds from INSERM, CNRS, Hôpital Universitaire de Strasbourg, Association pour la Recherche sur le Cancer, the Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale, and the Ligue Nationale contre le Cancer.The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. The article must therefore be hereby marked “advertisement” in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
↵‡ Supported by a fellowship from the Ministère de l’Education Nationale, de l’Enseignement Supérieur, de la Recherche et de la Technologie.
↵§ Present address: Dept. of Genetics, Medical Inst. of Bioregulation, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812, Japan.
↵¶ To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel.: 33-388-65-34-44; Fax: 33-388-65-32-01; E-mail:laszlo{at}igbmc.u-strasbg.fr.
↵2 Y. Nakatani, manuscript in preparation.
Abbreviations:

TBP

TATA-binding protein

TAF

TBP-associated factor

TFTC

TBP-free TAF_II-containing complex

HAT

histone acetyltransferase

h

human

y

yeast

r

recombinant

PAGE

polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis

NR

nuclear receptor

HFMC

histone fold motif-containing

pol II

polymerase II
- Received April 5, 1999.
- Revision received April 26, 1999.
The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.