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Molecular and Cellular Biology, July 2004, p. 5694-5709, Vol. 24, No. 13
0270-7306/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/MCB.24.13.5694-5709.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Synergistic Transcription Activation by Maf and Sox and Their Subnuclear Localization Are Disrupted by a Mutation in Maf That Causes Cataract

Nirmala Rajaram and Tom K. Kerppola*

Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-0650

Received 12 October 2003/ Returned for modification 12 December 2003/ Accepted 19 April 2004

Crystallin genes are selectively expressed during lens development. Maf and Sox family proteins synergistically enhanced {gamma}F-crystallin promoter activity in a lens cell line. Mutational analysis of the {gamma}F-crystallin promoter identified a composite regulatory element containing nonconsensus Maf and Sox recognition sequences. Mutations in these recognition sequences or changes in their spacing eliminated synergistic transcription activation. The transcriptional synergy was also affected by changes in the orientation of the Maf recognition sequence that had no detectable effect on binding affinity. The interaction between Maf and Sox proteins was visualized in living cells by bimolecular fluorescence complementation analysis. The N-terminal region of Maf mediated the interaction with Sox proteins in cells. Synergistic transcription activation required the N-terminal region of Maf as well as the ancillary DNA binding domain and the unique portion of the basic region that mediate specific recognition of the {gamma}F-crystallin promoter element. A mutation in the ancillary DNA binding domain of Maf (R288P) that has been shown to cause cataract eliminated the transcriptional activity of Maf but had no detectable effect on DNA binding in vitro. Whereas wild-type Maf was uniformly distributed in the nucleoplasm, R288P Maf was enriched in nuclear foci. Cajal bodies and gemini of coiled bodies were closely associated with the foci occupied by R288P Maf. Wild-type Maf formed complexes with Sox proteins in the nucleoplasm, whereas R288P Maf recruited Sox proteins as well as other interaction partners to the nuclear foci. The mislocalization of normal cellular proteins to these foci provides a potential explanation for the dominant disease phenotype of the R288P mutation in Maf.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan Medical School, 4570 MSRB II, 1150 W. Med. Ctr. Dr., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0650. Phone: (734) 764-3553. Fax: (734) 615-3397. E-mail: kerppola{at}umich.edu.

Molecular and Cellular Biology, July 2004, p. 5694-5709, Vol. 24, No. 13
0022-538X/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/MCB.24.13.5694-5709.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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