Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1991 Sep;11(9):4287-96.
doi: 10.1128/mcb.11.9.4287-4296.1991.

trans-dominant mutants of E1A provide genetic evidence that the zinc finger of the trans-activating domain binds a transcription factor

L C Webster  1 , R P Ricciardi
Affiliations

trans-dominant mutants of E1A provide genetic evidence that the zinc finger of the trans-activating domain binds a transcription factor

L C Webster et al. Mol Cell Biol. 1991 Sep.

Abstract

The 289R E1A protein of adenovirus stimulates transcription of early viral and certain cellular genes. trans-Activation requires residues 140 to 188, which encompass a zinc finger. Several studies have indicated that trans-activation by E1A is mediated through cellular transcription factors. In particular, the ability of the trans-dominant E1A point mutant hr5 (Ser-185 to Asn) to inhibit wild-type E1A trans-activation was proposed to result from the sequestration of a cellular factor. Using site-directed mutagenesis, we individually replaced every residue within and flanking the trans-activating domain with a conservative amino acid, revealing 16 critical residues. Six of the individual substitutions lying in a contiguous stretch C terminal to the zinc finger (carboxyl region183-188) imparted a trans-dominant phenotype. trans-Dominance was even produced by deletion of the entire carboxyl region183-188. Conversely, an intact finger region147-177 was absolutely required for trans-dominance, since second-site substitution of every critical residue in this region abrogated the trans-dominant phenotype of the hr5 protein. These data indicate that the finger region147-177 bind a limiting cellular transcription factor and that the carboxyl region183-188 provides a separate and essential function. In addition, we show that four negatively charged residues within the trans-activating domain do not comprise a distinct acidic activating region. We present a model in which the trans-activating domain of E1A binds to two different cellular protein targets through the finger and carboxyl regions.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Genes Dev. 1988 Jun;2(6):718-29 - PubMed
    1. Genes Dev. 1989 Oct;3(10):1590-601 - PubMed
    1. Mol Cell Biol. 1988 Apr;8(4):1765-74 - PubMed
    1. Cell. 1986 Sep 26;46(7):1043-51 - PubMed
    1. Nature. 1989 Nov 9;342(6246):200-3 - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources