E2A proteins enhance the histone acetyltransferase activity of the transcriptional co-activators CBP and p300.

The E2A gene encodes the E-protein transcription factors E12 and E47 that play critical roles in B-lymphopoiesis. A somatic chromosomal translocation detectable in 5% of cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) involves E2A and results in expression of the oncogenic transcription factor E2A-PBX1. CREB binding protein (CBP) and its close paralog p300 are transcriptional co-activators with intrinsic histone acetyltransferase (HAT) activity. We and others have shown that direct binding of an N-terminal transcriptional activation domain present in E12/E47 and E2A-PBX1 to the KIX domain of CBP/p300 contributes to E2A protein function. In the current work we show for the first time that the catalytic HAT activity of CBP/p300 is increased in the presence of residues 1-483 of E2A (i.e., the portion present in E2A-PBX1). The addition of purified, recombinant E2A protein to in vitro assays results in a two-fold augmentation of CBP/p300 HAT activity, whereas in vivo assays show a ten-fold augmentation of HAT-dependent transcriptional induction and a five-fold augmentation of acetylation of reporter plasmid-associated histone by CBP in response to co-transfected E2A. Our results indicate that the HAT-enhancing effect is independent of the well-documented E2A-CBP interaction involving the KIX domain and suggest a role for direct, perhaps low affinity binding of E2A to a portion of CBP that includes the HAT domain and flanking elements. Our findings add to a growing body of literature indicating that interactions between CBP/p300 and transcription factors can function in a specific manner to modulate HAT catalytic activity.

Critical role for a single leucine residue in leukemia induction by E2A-PBX1.

In roughly 5% of cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a chromosomal translocation leads to expression of the oncogenic protein E2A-PBX1. The N-terminal portion of E2A-PBX1, encoded by the E2A gene, is identical in sequence to the corresponding portion of the E proteins E12/E47 and includes transcriptional activation domains. The C terminus consists of most of the HOX interacting transcription factor PBX1, including its DNA-binding homeodomain. Structure-function correlative experiments have suggested that oncogenesis by E2A-PBX1 requires an activation domain, called AD1, at the extreme N terminus. We recently demonstrated that a potentially helical portion of AD1 interacts directly with the transcriptional coactivator protein cyclic AMP response element-binding protein (CBP) and that this interaction is essential in the immortalization of primary bone marrow cells in tissue culture. Here we show that a conserved LXXLL motif within AD1 is required in the interaction between E2A-PBX1 and the KIX domain of CBP. We show by circular dichroism spectroscopy that the LXXLL-containing portion of AD1 undergoes a helical transition upon interacting with the KIX domain and that amino acid substitutions that prevent helix formation prevent both the KIX interaction and cell immortalization by E2A-PBX1. Perhaps most strikingly, substitution of a single, conserved leucine residue (L20) within the LXXLL motif impairs leukemia induction in mice after transplantation with E2A-PBX1-expressing bone marrow. The KIX domain of CBP mediates well-characterized interactions with several transcription factors of relevance to leukemia induction. Circumstantial evidence suggests that the side chain of L20 might interact with a deep hydrophobic pocket in the KIX domain. Therefore, our results serve to identify a potential new drug target.

E2A-PBX1 interacts directly with the KIX domain of CBP/p300 in the induction of proliferation in primary hematopoietic cells.

The E2A gene encodes DNA-binding transcription factors, called E12 and E47, involved in cell specification and maturation. E2A is also involved in a chromosomal translocation that leads to the expression of an oncogenic transcription factor called E2A-PBX1 in cases of acute leukemia. In the work described here, we elucidate the interaction between E2A-PBX1 and transcriptional co-activators. We confirm that the E2A portion can interact with CBP and PCAF and map required elements on E2A and CBP. On CBP, the interaction involves the KIX domain, a well characterized domain that mediates interactions with several other oncogenic transcription factors. On E2A, the interaction with CBP requires conserved alpha-helical domains that reside within activation domains 1 and 2 (AD1 and AD2, respectively). Using purified, recombinant proteins, we show that the E2A-CBP interaction is direct. Notwithstanding the previously demonstrated ability of AD1 and AD2 to function independently, some of our findings suggest functional cooperativity between these two domains. Finally, we show that the CBP/p300-interactive helical domains of E2A are important in the induction of proliferation in cultured primary bone marrow cells retrovirally transduced with E2A-PBX1. Our findings suggest that some aspects of E2A-PBX1 oncogenesis involve a direct interaction with the KIX domain of CBP/p300.