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Mechanism of DNA-binding enhancement by the human T-cell leukaemia virus transactivator Tax

Nature volume 376, pages 606–608 (1995)Cite this article

Abstract

TAX protein activates transcription of the human T-cell leukaemia virus type I (HTLV-I) genome through three imperfect cyclic AMP-responsive element (CRE) target sites located within the viral promoter1. Previous work has shown that Tax interacts with the bZIP element of proteins that bind the CRE target site2–4 to promote peptide dimerization3–5, suggesting an association between Tax and the bZIP coiled coil. Here we show that the site of interaction with Tax is not the coiled coil, but the basic segment. This interaction increases the stability of the GCN4 bZIP dimer by 1.7 kcal mol–1 and the DNA affinity of the dimer by 1.9 kcal mol–1. The differential effect of Tax on several bZIP–DNA complexes that differ in peptide sequence or DNA conformation suggests a model for Tax action based on stabilization of a distinct DNA-bound protein structure. This model may explain how Tax interacts with transcription factors of considerable sequence diversity to alter patterns of gene expression.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Chemistry,

    Anne M. Baranger, Mary Kay Hamm & Alanna Schepartz

  2. Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, 06520, USA

    C. Rodgers Palmer

  3. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523, USA

    Holli A. Giebler, Anne Brauweiler & Jennifer K. Nyborg

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  1. Anne M. Baranger
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  7. Alanna Schepartz
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Baranger, A., Palmer, C., Hamm, M. et al. Mechanism of DNA-binding enhancement by the human T-cell leukaemia virus transactivator Tax. Nature 376, 606–608 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1038/376606a0

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