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Molecular and Cellular Biology, December 2000, p. 8803-8814, Vol. 20, No. 23
0270-7306/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Phosphorylation-Induced Dimerization of Interferon Regulatory Factor 7 Unmasks DNA Binding and a Bipartite Transactivation Domain

Isabelle Marié,1,2 Eric Smith,1 Arun Prakash,1 and David E. Levy1,*

Department of Pathology and Kaplan Comprehensive Cancer Center, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York 10016,1 and Institut Pasteur, 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France2

Received 15 May 2000/Returned for modification 5 July 2000/Accepted 29 August 2000

Interferon regulatory factor 7 (IRF7) is an interferon (IFN)-inducible transcription factor required for activation of a subset of IFN-alpha genes that are expressed with delayed kinetics following viral infection. IRF7 is synthesized as a latent protein and is posttranslationally modified by protein phosphorylation in infected cells. Phosphorylation required a carboxyl-terminal regulatory domain that controlled the retention of the active protein exclusively in the nucleus, as well as its binding to specific DNA target sequences, multimerization, and ability to induce target gene expression. Transcriptional activation by IRF7 mapped to two distinct regions, both of which were required for full activity, while all functions were masked in latent IRF7 by an autoinhibitory domain mapping to an internal region. A conditionally active form of IRF7 was constructed by fusing IRF7 with the ligand-binding and dimerization domain of estrogen receptor (ER). Hormone-dependent dimerization of chimeric IRF7-ER stimulated DNA binding and transcriptional transactivation of endogenous target genes. These studies demonstrate the regulation of IRF7 activity by phosphorylation-dependent allosteric changes that result in dimerization and that facilitate nuclear retention, derepress transactivation, and allow specific DNA binding.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Pathology, New York University School of Medicine, 550 First Ave., New York, NY 10016. Phone: (212) 263-8192. Fax: (212) 263-8211. E-mail: levyd01{at}med.nyu.edu.

Molecular and Cellular Biology, December 2000, p. 8803-8814, Vol. 20, No. 23
0270-7306/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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