SUMOylation regulates the nuclear mobility of CREB binding protein and its association with nuclear bodies in live cells.

The lysine acetyltransferase CREB binding protein (CBP) is required for chromatin modification and transcription at many gene promoters. In fixed cells, a large proportion of CBP colocalises to PML or nuclear bodies. Using live cell imaging, we show here that YFP-tagged CBP expressed in HEK293 cells undergoes gradual accumulation in nuclear bodies, some of which are mobile and migrate towards the nuclear envelope. Deletion of a short lysine-rich domain that contains the major SUMO acceptor sites of CBP abrogated its ability to be SUMO modified, and prevented its association with endogenous SUMO-1/PML speckles in vivo. This SUMO-defective CBP showed enhanced ability to co-activate AML1-mediated transcription. Deletion mapping revealed that the SUMO-modified region was not sufficient for targeting CBP to PML bodies, as C-terminally truncated mutants containing this domain showed a strong reduction in accumulation at PML bodies. Fluorescence recovery after photo-bleaching (FRAP) experiments revealed that YFP-CBPDelta998-1087 had a retarded recovery time in the nucleus, as compared to YFP-CBP. These results indicate that SUMOylation regulates CBP function by influencing its shuttling between nuclear bodies and chromatin microenvironments.

Functional interaction of CREB binding protein (CBP) with nuclear transport proteins and modulation by HDAC inhibitors.

Nuclear transport proteins such as CSE1, NUP93 and Importin-alpha have recently been shown to be chromatin-associated proteins in yeast, which have unexpected functions in gene regulation. Here we report interactions between the mammalian histone acetyltransferase CBP with nuclear transport proteins CAS (a CSE1 homologue) and Importin-alpha (Impalpha) and NUP93. CAS was found to bind the SRC1 interaction domain (SID) of CBP via a leucine-rich motif in the N-terminus of the protein, that is conserved in other SID-binding proteins. Coimmunoprecipitation experiments also revealed that CBP and Impalpha proteins form a complex. As Impalpha is a known acetylation target of CBP/p300, and is recycled to the cytoplasm via the exportin CAS, we investigated whether HDAC inhibitors would alter the subcellular localization of these proteins. Treatment of COS-1 cells with the HDAC inhibitors trichostatin A or sodium butyrate resulted in sequestration of Impalpha in the nuclear envelope, accumulation of CAS in nuclear aggregates, and an increased number of CBP-containing PML bodies per cell. In addition, HDACi treatment appeared to enhance the association of Impalpha and CBP in coimmunoprecipitation experiments. Our results provide evidence for novel functional interactions between the chromatin modification enzyme CBP and nuclear transport proteins in mammalian cells.