Pdx1 and USF transcription factors co-ordinately regulate Alx3 gene expression in pancreatic β-cells

We investigated the transcriptional mechanisms regulating the expression of Alx3 in pancreatic islets. We found that the transcriptional transactivation of Alx3 in β-cells requires the co-operation of the islet-specific homeoprotein Pdx1 with the transcription factors USF1 and USF2.

The Transcriptional Transactivation Function of HBx Protein Is Important for Its Augmentation Role in Hepatitis B Virus Replication

ABSTRACT The role and functional domain of hepatitis B virus (HBV) X protein (HBx) in regulating HBV transcription and replication were investigated with a transient transfection system in the human hepatoma cell line HepG2 using wild-type or HBx-minus HBV genome constructs and a series of deletion or mutation HBx expression plasmids. We show here that HBx has augmentation effects on HBV transcription and replication as a HBV mutant genome with defective X gene led to decreased levels of 3.5-kb HBV RNA and HBV replication intermediates and that these decreases can be restored by either transient ectopic expression of HBx or a stable HBx expression cell line. The C-terminal two-thirds (amino acids [aa] 51 to 154), which contain the transactivation domain, is required for this function of HBx; the N-terminal one-third (aa 1 to 50) is not required. Using the alanine scanning mutagenesis strategy, we demonstrated that the regions between aa 52 to 65 and 88 to 154 are important for the augmentation function of HBx in HBV replication. By the luciferase reporter gene analysis, we found that the transactivation and coactivation activities of HBx coincide well with its augmentation function in HBV transcription and replication. These results suggest that HBx has an important role in stimulating HBV transcription and replication and that the transcriptional transactivation function of HBx may be critical for its augmentation effect on HBV replication.

The Acidic Activation Domain of the Baculovirus Transactivator IE1 Contains a Virus-Specific Domain Essential for DNA Replication

ABSTRACT IE1 is a potent transcriptional transactivator of the baculovirus Orgyia pseudotsugata multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (OpMNPV) and has been shown to be essential for viral DNA replication. IE1 contains an acidic activation domain (AAD) at the N terminus that is essential for transcriptional transactivation, but its role in viral DNA replication is unknown. In this study the role of the IE1 AAD in DNA replication is investigated. We have determined that deletion of the AAD eliminates the ability of IE1 to support DNA replication, showing that the AAD is essential for DNA replication as well as transcriptional transactivation. Replacement of the AAD with the archetype domain from herpesvirus VP16 and the evolutionarily related domain from Autographa californica MNPV (AcMNPV) IE1 produces chimeric proteins that are potent transactivators. Surprisingly, however, these chimeric proteins were unable to support DNA replication, indicating that there is a host- or virus-specific replication subdomain in the AAD that was not functionally replaced by the VP16 or AcMNPV AAD. Using N- and C-terminal deletion mutants, the region of the AAD that was essential for DNA replication was mapped to amino acids 1 to 65. AAD deletion mutants also showed that an IE1 that is functional for transcriptional transactivation is not required for viral DNA replication. The IE1 AAD therefore contains an essential replication domain that is separable from the transcriptional activation domains. Our results suggest that IE1 specifically interacts with a component of the viral replication complex, supporting the view that it acts as a nucleating factor by binding to the viral replication origins.