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Molecular and Cellular Biology, May 2000, p. 3364-3376, Vol. 20, No. 10
0270-7306/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

A Functionally Essential Domain of RFX5 Mediates Activation of Major Histocompatibility Complex Class II Promoters by Promoting Cooperative Binding between RFX and NF-Y

Jean Villard,1,* Marie Peretti,1 Krzysztof Masternak,1 Emmanuèle Barras,1 Giuseppina Caretti,2 Roberto Mantovani,2 and Walter Reith1,*

Department of Genetics and Microbiology, University of Geneva Medical School, CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland,1 and Dipartimento di Genetica e di Biologia dei Microorganismi, Università di Milano, Milan 20133, Italy2

Received 24 September 1999/Returned for modification 23 November 1999/Accepted 18 February 2000

Major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC-II) molecules occupy a pivotal position in the adaptive immune system, and correct regulation of their expression is therefore of critical importance for the control of the immune response. Several regulatory factors essential for the transcription of MHC-II genes have been identified by elucidation of the molecular defects responsible for MHC-II deficiency, a hereditary immunodeficiency disease characterized by regulatory defects abrogating MHC-II expression. Three of these factors, RFX5, RFXAP, and RFXANK, combine to form the RFX complex, a regulatory protein that binds to the X box DNA sequence present in all MHC-II promoters. In this study we have undertaken a dissection of the structure and function of RFX5, the largest subunit of the RFX complex. The results define two distinct domains serving two different essential functions. A highly conserved N-terminal region of RFX5 is required for its association with RFXANK and RFXAP, for assembly of the RFX complex in vivo and in vitro, and for binding of this complex to its X box target site in the MHC-II promoter. This N-terminal region is, however, not sufficient for activation of MHC-II expression. This requires an additional domain within the C-terminal region of RFX5. This C-terminal domain mediates cooperative binding between the RFX complex and NF-Y, a transcription factor binding to the Y box sequence of MHC-II promoters. This provides direct evidence that RFX5-mediated cooperative binding between RFX and NF-Y plays an essential role in the transcriptional activation of MHC-II genes.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address for Jean Villard and Walter Reith: Department of Genetics and Microbiology, University of Geneva Medical School, CMU, 1 rue Michel-Servet, CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland. Phone for Jean Villard: (41 22) 702 56 72. Phone for Walter Reith: (41 22) 702 56 66. Fax for both corresponding authors: (41 22) 702 57 02. E-mail for Jean Villard: Jean.Villard{at}medecine.unige.ch. E-mail for Walter Reith: Walter.Reith{at}medecine.unige.ch.

Molecular and Cellular Biology, May 2000, p. 3364-3376, Vol. 20, No. 10
0270-7306/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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