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Molecular and Cellular Biology, May 2004, p. 4546-4556, Vol. 24, No. 10
0270-7306/04/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/MCB.24.10.4546-4556.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
E2F-Dependent Histone Acetylation and Recruitment of the Tip60 Acetyltransferase Complex to Chromatin in Late G1
Stefan Taubert,1,
Chiara Gorrini,2 Scott R. Frank,1,
Tiziana Parisi,1,
Miriam Fuchs,3,¶ Ho-Man Chan,3 David M. Livingston,3 and Bruno Amati1,2*
DNAX Research Institute, Palo Alto, California 94304,1
Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology, 20141 Milan, Italy,2
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 021153
Received 17 January 2004/
Returned for modification 15 February 2004/
Accepted 20 February 2004

ABSTRACT
E2F proteins can either activate or repress transcription. Following
mitogenic stimulation, repressive E2F4-p130-histone deacetylase
complexes dissociate from, while activating species (E2F1, -2,
and -3) associate with, target promoters. Histones H3 and H4
simultaneously become hyperacetylated, but it remains unclear
whether this is a prerequisite or a consequence of E2F binding.
Here, we show that activating E2F species are required for hyperacetylation
of target chromatin in human cells. Overexpression of a dominant-negative
(DN) E2F1 mutant in serum-stimulated T98G cells blocked all
E2F binding, H4 acetylation, and, albeit partially, H3 acetylation.
Target gene activation and S-phase entry were also blocked by
DN E2F1. Conversely, ectopic activation of E2F1 rapidly induced
H3 and H4 acetylation, demonstrating a direct role for E2F in
these events. E2F1 was previously shown to bind the histone
acetyltransferases (HATs) p300/CBP and PCAF/GCN5. In our hands,
ectopically expressed E2F1 also bound the unrelated HAT Tip60
and induced recruitment of five subunits of the Tip60 complex
(Tip60, TRRAP, p400, Tip48, and Tip49) to target promoters in
vivo. Moreover, E2F-dependent recruitment of Tip60 to chromatin
occurred in late G
1 following serum stimulation. We speculate
that the activities of multiple HAT complexes account for E2F-dependent
acetylation, transcription, and S-phase entry.

INTRODUCTION
The fundamental unit of eukaryotic chromatin is the nucleosome,
in which genomic DNA is tightly wrapped around a histone octamer
comprising two copies of each core histone (H2A, H2B, H3, and
H4) (
25). Chromatin structure and gene transcription are regulated
by covalent modifications in the N-terminal tails of histones,
of which the best characterized is lysine acetylation (
39,
42,
46). Generally, hyperacetylation correlates with transcriptional
activation, while deacetylation is associated with repression.
The enzymes that catalyze these transitions are histone acetyltransferases
(HATs) and histone deacetylases (HDACs), respectively. These
enzymes are recruited to target genes by sequence-specific transcription
factors, allowing both selective and diversified use of their
coactivator and corepressor functions.
Transcription factors of the E2F family regulate cell cycle progression in higher eukaryotes (reviewed in references 7, 44, and 48). In mammals, six E2F species have been described: E2F1, -2, and -3 are believed to act primarily as transactivators and are thus commonly referred to as "activating" E2Fs, while E2F4 and -5 appear to be critical for repression of target genes. All of these proteins, however, possess a C-terminal transactivation domain (TAD) and thus have the potential to activate transcription. Through a subdomain within the TAD, E2Fs are bound by retinoblastoma (Rb) family proteins, or "pocket proteins": E2F1, -2, and -3 interact with pRb, while E2F4 and -5 bind p107 and p130. These interactions are thought to counteract E2F-dependent gene activation by two mechanisms: (i) interference, i.e., preventing association of the TAD with basal transcription factors, and (ii) active repression, i.e., assembly of transcriptional repressor complexes. These include HDACs (2, 10, 28), histone methyltransferases (34), and the chromatin remodeling complex SWI/SNF (reviewed in reference 18). As a result, in quiescent cells, E2F target genes exhibit a repressed "heterochromatic" state, in which histones H3 and H4 are hypoacetylated and lysine 9 of histone H3 is methylated (11, 34, 38, 47).
In contrast to repression, the mechanisms of transactivation by E2F have not yet been elucidated in molecular detail. While E2F target genes are bound by E2F1 to -3 and exhibit hyperacetylated histones in the late-G1 and S phases (47), the causal relationship between these events remains unclear. In favor of a direct role of E2Fs in histone acetylation, they interact with HATs, including PCAF/GCN5 and p300/CBP. In reporter gene assays, these cofactors enhance E2F-dependent transcription, possibly through acetylation of E2F itself (1, 14, 26, 29, 30, 37, 49). E2F1 also binds TRRAP (26, 31), a subunit of the HAT complexes PCAF/GCN5 (51) and Tip60 (20). In spite of these observations, there is no direct proof that E2Fs act upstream, rather than downstream, of histone acetylation. Under certain circumstances, the simple removal of repressive E2F-HDAC complexes can induce downstream responses (19, 40, 56), suggesting that promotion of acetylation by E2F may not be required. Instead, like other transcription factors such as yeast SBF (4), E2F1 to -3 may bind chromatin only following histone acetylation and may activate transcription by recruiting basal factors. Consistent with this hypothesis, E2Fs have been shown to bind TBP, TFIIH (8, 17, 36, 50), and the Mediator subunit RING3 (6). Here, we show that chromatin association of activating E2F complexes is required to promote histone acetylation in late G1. We also provide evidence that five subunits of the Tip60 HAT complex (15, 20) are recruited to chromatin in an E2F-dependent manner.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Cells, ChIP, and mRNA analysis.
T98G cells (American Type Culture Collection) and U2OS cells
expressing estrogen receptor (ER)-E2F chimeras (
32) were cultured
in Dulbecco's minimal essential medium with 10% fetal calf serum
and were rendered quiescent by contact inhibition followed by
serum removal for 2 or 4 days, respectively. For cell cycle
reentry, T98G cells were harvested by trypsinization and reseeded
onto plates containing Dulbecco's minimal essential medium-10%
fetal calf serum at a density of 1:3. U2OS ER-E2F1 cells were
directly induced by stimulation with 4-hydroxytamoxifen (OHT).
Recombinant AdEasy adenoviruses expressing human wild-type (WT)
E2F1 or E2F1-Eco132 were used as described previously (
13).
RNA extraction, cDNA synthesis, quantitative chromatin immunoprecipitation
(ChIP), real-time PCR, and calculations of DNA recovery in ChIP
were exactly as described in previous work (
12,
13), with no
further modifications. The following antibodies were used: E2F1
C-20 (sc-193; Santa Cruz), KH20 and KH95 (05-379; Upstate Biotech),
E2F2 C-20 (sc-633), E2F3 C-18 (sc-878), E2F4 A-20 (sc-1082),
p130 C-20 (sc-317), pan-acetyl-histone H3 (06-599; Upstate Biotech),
and pan-acetyl-histone H4 (06-866; Upstate Biotech). The antisera
against TRRAP (
13), Tip60, Tip48, Tip49 (
12), and p400 (
15)
were previously described. For ChIP, 2 µg of each antibody
was used to precipitate chromatin from 1
x 10
7 to 4
x 10
7 cells.
The PCR primers used for ChIP and mRNA analysis, performed by
reverse transcription (RT)-PCR as previously described (
13),
are listed in Table
1.
Coimmunoprecipitation assay.
Human Tip60 and hemagglutinin (HA)-tagged E2F1 proteins were
transiently expressed in U2OS cells by calcium phosphate-mediated
transfection. Cells were resuspended in 0.5 ml of lysis buffer
(
33) (50 mM Tris, pH 8, 0.4% Nonidet P-40, 300 mM NaCl, 10 mM
MgCl
2, 2.5 mM CaCl
2) supplemented with protease inhibitors (Complete
EDTA free; Roche Diagnostics) and DNase (10 U/µl; Roche)
and incubated for 10 min on ice. One-tenth of the lysate was
saved for immunoblotting, and the rest was used for two parallel
immunoprecipitations followed by immunoblotting (see Fig.
9).
We used the anti-Tip60 antibody CLHF (
12), mouse anti-HA (Covance),
and the anti-E2F1 monoclonal KH20. Immunoprecipitation was performed
with protein A (for anti-Tip60) or protein G beads (for anti-HA)
for 2 h at 4°C, followed by three washes with wash buffer
(50 mM Tris, pH 8, 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM MgCl
2, 0.4% Nonidet P-40).
Bound proteins were loaded on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide
gel electrophoresis gels. Western blotting was performed by
standard procedures and revealed by chemiluminescence with an
ECL detection system (Amersham).

RESULTS
Kinetics of E2F binding and histone acetylation at E2F target sites.
In order to study the binding of E2F to chromatin and associated
events in live cells, we used a quantitative ChIP assay previously
developed by our group (
13). Chromatin was cross-linked in vivo
by formaldehyde fixation of cultured cells. After shearing by
sonication in a sodium dodecyl sulfate-containing buffer, cross-linked
protein-DNA complexes were immunoprecipitated (always in triplicate)
with antibodies against E2F family proteins or against acetylated
forms of histones H3 and H4. Cross-links were reversed and DNA
was purified from the precipitates. Real-time PCR was used to
amplify known E2F-binding sites in the
mcm4,
mcm3,
PCNA, and
p107 promoters (
5,
24,
27,
47) (Fig.
1). For each sample (e.g.,
time point), parallel PCRs were run on triplicate isolates of
DNA from each of the following: immune precipitates, control
precipitates, and total input chromatin. The recovery of a given
site (or amplicon, as shown in Fig.
1) in each precipitate was
expressed as a percentage of its abundance in input chromatin,
as previously described (
13).
We used T98G cells, which are known to progress synchronously
through G
1 and S phase following serum stimulation (Fig.
2A).
As previously reported (
47), the association of E2F1 with target
promoters peaked in late G
1 (15 h) (Fig.
2A and B). As negative
controls, the
AchR promoter did not bind E2F (Fig.
2B), and
none of the tested sequences was enriched in nonimmune precipitates
(Fig.
2E). Amplification of sequences on either side of the
E2F consensus sites in
mcm4,
mcm3,
PCNA, and
p107 showed that
E2F was localized over the predicted binding sites (Fig.
3A).
This was true in quiescent cells (0 h), with minimal levels
of E2F1 binding, as well as in late G
1 (15 h). The binding kinetics
for E2F2 and E2F3 were similar to that of E2F1. E2F4, in association
with p130, was the main species bound to chromatin in quiescent
cells and decreased upon cell cycle entry (data not shown; see
Fig.
4F). Concomitant with the dissociation of E2F4/p130 and
association of E2F1 to -3, acetylation of histones H3 and H4
peaked in late G
1 (Fig.
2C and D). This modification was localized
to a region of 2 to 3 kb centered to the E2F-binding sites (Fig.
3B and C). Although differences in the detailed kinetics of
E2F-chromatin interactions may be seen with different target
genes and/or cell lines (
53), our observations reproduce previous
data with T98G cells (
47) as well as mouse fibroblasts (
38).
Activating E2F complexes are required for H3 and H4 acetylation in late G1.
The timing and localization of E2F1-3 binding and histone acetylation
are compatible with two alternative scenarios: (i) E2F proteins
might directly induce, and hence be required for, acetylation,
and (ii) acetylation induced by other factors might be a prerequisite
for E2F binding. In order to address the role of E2F, we chose
to block the binding of all E2F species to chromatin by overexpressing
a dominant-negative (DN) mutant of E2F1. To this aim, we subcloned
the mutant E2F1-Eco132 (
21) in an adenoviral vector. This mutant
bears a point mutation that prevents DNA binding but retains
all protein-protein interaction surfaces, including the dimerization
domain. Thus, overexpression of E2F1-Eco132 would be expected
to block the binding of endogenous E2F to promoters by titrating
dimerization partner proteins. In order to test this prediction,
quiescent T98G cells were seeded in fresh medium and simultaneously
infected with one of three adenoviruses: AdGFP (control), AdE2F1
(expressing WT E2F1), and AdEco132 (mutant E2F1). Both forms
of E2F1 accumulated to similar levels in the cells (Fig.
4A).
We then monitored E2F1 binding to
mcm4 by ChIP (Fig.
4B). AdGFP
had no incidence upon the association of endogenous E2F1 to
chromatin in late G
1 (18 h). AdEco132, in contrast, eliminated
E2F1 binding. As expected, interfering activity depended upon
the E2F-Eco132 mutation, since AdE2F1 led to premature binding
of E2F1 in early G
1 (4 to 8 h) (Fig.
4B). The disruption of
E2F1 binding by Eco132 was observed on all target genes at the
15-h time point (Fig.
4C). Note that at this time point, binding
by exogenous E2F1 in AdE2F1-infected cells was already past
its peak level and was comparable to the level of endogenous
E2F1 binding seen in control cells (Fig.
4B and C). Furthermore,
E2F-Eco132 also eliminated chromatin association of E2F2 and
E2F3 (Fig.
4D and E). Consistent with the observation that E2F4-p130
repressive complexes dissociate from chromatin upon cell cycle
entry (
38,
47), late-G
1 cells showed reduced binding of E2F4
(Fig.
4F) and p130 (data not shown) relative to quiescent cells,
which was not further reduced by infection with either of the
adenoviruses.
We next investigated whether the Eco132 mutant had an effect on histone acetylation. AdEco132 caused a complete block on histone H4, with acetylation levels on mcm4, mcm3, and PCNA remaining at the basal levels observed in quiescent cells (Fig. 4G; note that on p107 interference by AdEco132 was incomplete, correlating with residual binding of E2F1 [Fig. 4C]). This blocking effect of AdEco132 is better illustrated in Fig. 5A, showing the extent of serum-induced H4 acetylation (n-fold induction) relative to quiescent cells (0 h). In summary, removal of E2F complexes from target promoters eliminates any effect of serum on H4 acetylation. These data have two major implications: (i) binding of activating E2F species in late G1 is required to induce and/or maintain H4 acetylation, and (ii) the removal of repressor complexes (i.e., E2F4-p130) is insufficient for H4 acetylation.
An important difference was revealed when studying H3. In this
case, AdEco132 reduced, but did not eliminate, acetylation (Fig.
4H and
5B). Thus, although maximal H3 hyperacetylation in late
G
1 also requires E2F, a significant fraction of it is retained
upon removal of all E2F species from target promoters. This
implies that H3 is modified in part by HATs that do not require
recruitment or that are recruited by a transcription factor(s)
distinct from E2F.
E2F binding is required for target gene activation and S-phase entry.
Since E2F1-Eco132 negates binding of E2F family proteins after serum stimulation and prevents hyperacetylation, we investigated whether it also affected expression of E2F target genes. Total mRNA was prepared from serum-stimulated T98G cells and analyzed by quantitative RT-PCR. While mRNA levels of ubiquitin (not an E2F target) did not fluctuate, mRNAs of all four E2F target genes were induced (Fig. 6A). This induction was not affected by infection with AdGFP but was strongly reduced by AdEco132. Interestingly, this did not hold true for the p107 gene, whose mRNA induction was not affected, correlating with residual E2F1 binding and H4 acetylation. Eco132-expressing cells also failed to enter S phase (Fig. 6B). A similar phenotype has recently been described in mouse embryo fibroblasts expressing another E2F1 mutant, E2F-DB, which lacks the TAD (40). Altogether, these data suggest that the transactivation function of E2F proteins is critical for gene activation and cell cycle entry upon exit from quiescence.
E2F1 induces H3 and H4 acetylation.
The above data show that activating E2F species (E2F1, -2, or
-3) are required for histone acetylation (only in part for H3),
activation of gene expression, and cell cycle entry. In order
to address whether E2F can directly induce those changes, U2OS
cells expressing a conditional ER-E2F1 chimera were treated
with 4-OHT, which activates ER-E2F1 and induces multiple E2F
target genes (
32). ChIP with anti-E2F1 antibodies demonstrated
rapid association of ER-E2F1 with target promoters, while AchR
remained unbound (Fig.
7A). As for endogenous E2F, binding of
ER-E2F1 was localized over the predicted sites on all the promoters,
and the control promoter
AchR was not bound. Control nonimmune
ChIPs did not enrich any of the promoters (data not shown).
Concomitant with ER-E2F1 binding, OHT treatment induced rapid
hyperacetylation of histones H3 and H4 (Fig.
7B and C). We conclude
that E2F1 is not only required for but can directly induce hyperacetylation
of histones H3 and H4. While ER-E2F1 also induced mRNA accumulation
in both U2OS and T98G cells (data not shown), this response
was generally weaker than that seen in serum-stimulated cells
(Fig.
6A). Thus, other serum-dependent signals must contribute
to the full activation of E2F target genes.
Notably, the domains of hyperacetylation induced by ER-E2F1
in U2OS cells (data not shown) were superimposable with those
observed in late G
1 in T98G cells (Fig.
3B and C), covering
a region of 2 to 3 kb (

20 nucleosomes) roughly centered on the
E2F-binding sites and the transcription start sites (indeed,
E2F-binding sites are generally proximal tobut can also
occur on either side ofthe start sites [Fig.
1]). The
same phenomenon has been seen with other transcription factors
in vivo, such as Myc (
13). In vitro experiments also showed
that HATs recruited to a specific site by a given transcription
factor can acetylate multiple nucleosomes in target chromatin
(
9,
52).
E2F-dependent recruitment of the Tip60 HAT complex to chromatin.
Since activating E2F species induce histone acetylation, we reasoned that they must recruit one or more HATs to target loci. We initially tested the HAT-associated protein TRRAP, which was known to bind E2F1 (31). OHT treatment of ER-E2F1 cells followed by ChIP with a TRRAP-specific antibody showed that TRRAP was recruited to E2F target sites but not to the AchR promoter (Fig. 8A). This occurred with similar kinetics as ER-E2F1 binding (Fig. 7A). As previously observed at Myc target loci (12, 13), the extent of chromatin recovery with TRRAP antibodies was modest but was consistently elevated above the background observed at the nontarget AchR promoter or in nonimmune precipitates (Fig. 8A; data not shown). Binding of TRRAP is likely to reflect recruitment of the HAT complexes GCN5/PCAF (51) and/or Tip60 (20). So far, we failed to observe recruitment of GCN5 or the unrelated HAT p300 to E2F target genes (data not shown). It should be considered, however, that not all antibodies work in ChIPs and that our negative results should not be interpreted as evidence against a role of these HATs in E2F activity. On the other hand, we obtained clear evidence for recruitment of Tip60 and will henceforth concentrate on this HAT complex.
Besides TRRAP, we studied four known subunits of the Tip60 complex:
Tip60 itself, Tip48, Tip49, and p400 (
15,
20). Like TRRAP, these
proteins selectively associated with E2F target promoters following
ER-E2F1 activation (Fig.
8). Furthermore, maximal enrichment
of ER-E2F1 and each Tip60 subunit was colocalized on the E2F
target sites (data not shown; see similar data in Fig.
3D to G for serum-induced recruitment). We conclude that ER-E2F1 induces
recruitment of TRRAP, Tip60, Tip48, Tip49, and p400 to chromatin.
TRRAP and Tip60 were also recruited upon activation of ER-E2F2
and ER-E2F3 (data not shown). Although independent interactions
with each subunit cannot be ruled out, our data are most compatible
with recruitment of the whole Tip60 complex by activating E2Fs.
We used coimmunoprecipitation to confirm that E2F1 and Tip60 can interact physically. Tip60 and HA-tagged E2F1 were overexpressed by cotransfection in U2OS cells and analyzed by coimmunoprecipitation. Anti-Tip60 precipitation followed by E2F1 immunoblotting revealed that HA-E2F1 specifically coprecipitated with Tip60 (Fig. 9, lane 4). Conversely, Tip60 was also detected in anti-HA immunoprecipitates. Coprecipitation was selective, since it was not detected in cells transfected with control vectors or with either HA-E2F1 or Tip60 alone (lanes 1 to 3). It remains to be determined whether this interaction is direct or occurs via association of either protein with cellular TRRAP (20, 31). So far, we have not been able to detect coprecipitation between endogenous E2F1 and Tip60, possibly due to low expression levels and the small fraction of either protein involved. This notwithstanding, our data show that E2F1 and Tip60 can bind each other in cells. Furthermore, the following ChIP experiments strongly indicate an interactionwhether direct or indirectbetween endogenous E2F and Tip60 on chromatin.
We asked whether the Tip60 complex was recruited by endogenous E2F following serum stimulation of T98G cells. By ChIP, we observed loading of TRRAP, Tip60, Tip48, and Tip49 onto E2F target sites but not onto AchR in late G1 (Fig. 10A to D). Immunoprecipitation of these subunits yielded recoveries that were significantly above the background seen in nonimmune immunoprecipitations (Fig. 2E), while p400 antibodies did not consistently do so (data not shown). Compared with the binding of E2F1 to -3, the cofactors showed consistent kinetics (Fig. 2B and 10A to D) and colocalization on E2F target sites (Fig. 3A and D to G). In T98G cells, the TRRAP and Tip60 proteins were expressed at constant levels throughout the serum time courses (data not shown), further indicating that their binding to chromatin was not simply due to enhanced expression but to localized recruitment by E2F. Finally, to directly address the role of E2F, we overexpressed the DN E2F1 mutant Eco132. As seen above for E2F1-3 (Fig. 4C to E), serum-induced association of TRRAP, Tip60, Tip48, and Tip49 with chromatin was blocked by AdEco123 but not by AdGFP or AdE2F1 (Fig. 4I to L). Together with the rapid recruitment seen upon ER-E2F activation, these data show that activating E2F species are responsible for recruitment of the Tip60 complex in late G1.
Of note, Tip48 and Tip49 were detectable on promoters prior
to serum stimulation (Fig.
10C and D) and on wider domains (Fig.
3D to G) relative to E2F, Tip60, and TRRAP. Unlike the increased
binding seen in late G
1, basal association of Tip48/49 was E2F
independent, as it was not affected by DN E2F1 (Fig.
4K and L,
compare white and black bars). In no circumstance did Tip48
or Tip49 bind the negative control
AchR (Fig.
10). In an analogous
manner, we observed basal Myc-independent association of Tip48/49
with the nucleolin promoter, while serum- and Myc-dependent
recruitment, in this case, were maximal in intron 1 (
12). These
observations might reflect the fact that Tip48/49 heteromers
(
22,
54), besides associating with Tip60/p400 (
15,
20), participate
in other transcriptional regulatory complexes (
16,
23,
43).

DISCUSSION
Genetic analysis of E2F1, -2, and -3 has revealed nonidentical
functions (
3,
41,
45,
48). Most importantly, however, these
activating E2F proteins have a redundant and essential role
in cellular proliferation (
55). These biological similarities
are likely to reflect a common function at the molecular level,
and in particular in the transactivation of target genes. Following
mitogenic stimulation of quiescent cells, a number of dynamic
changes occur on the chromatin of E2F target genes (see the
introduction). In particular, activating E2F species associate
with target promoters in late G
1, concomitant with hyperacetylation
of histones H3 and H4 (
47). It remained unknown, however, whether
E2F promotes histone acetylation or acts on a downstream event
in the transcriptional activation cascade. Our data establish
that E2F directly promotes acetylation of target chromatin in
vivo and is required for hyperacetylation of histones H3 and
H4 in late G
1 after mitogenic stimulation.
We used T98G cells, in which the dynamics of chromatin modifications were previously characterized (47). Adenovirus-mediated expression of a DN E2F species upon serum stimulation blocked binding of all E2F species to target promoters, as assayed by quantitative ChIP. The hyperacetylation of chromatin on those promoters was also impaired, implying that E2F is required for this event. In support of this conclusion, acute activation of a recombinant ER-E2F1 protein induced rapid acetylation of histones H3 and H4. DN E2F blocked not only acetylation but also the activation of E2F target genes and, as previously reported (40), entry into S phase. Hence, the hyperacetylation of target promoters mediated by E2F is likely to be an essential step in the transcriptional activation cascade that follows serum stimulation.
The HATs p300/CBP and GCN5/PCAF have been shown to interact with E2F (see the introduction). We demonstrate that E2F can bind an additional HAT, Tip60. Activation of ER-E2F1 induced recruitment of Tip60 to target promoters, alongside four additional subunits of the Tip60 complex: TRRAP, p400, Tip48, and Tip49 (15, 20). Four of these proteins (Tip60, TRRAP, Tip48, and Tip49) were detectably enriched on E2F target promoters in late G1 in a manner sensitive to blockade by DN E2F. Hence, E2F recruits the Tip60 complex to target chromatin in vivo. It remains to be addressed whether this occurs through direct interaction of E2F with TRRAP, Tip60, and/or other subunits of the complex.
So far, our attempts to interfere with Tip60 function, either by RNA interference or with a DN mutant, have failed to reveal an essential role of Tip60 in E2F-regulated transcription (data not shown). We do not know whether this is due to technical limitations (e.g., incomplete Tip60 knockdown) or to functional redundancy of Tip60 with different HATs. In favor of the latter possibility, a HAT activity distinct from Tip60 but of similar enzymatic specificity can be detected in p400- and TRRAP-containing complexes (35). Other E2F-interacting HATs, including GCN5/PCAF and p300/CBP (see the introduction) may also account for functional redundancy. In spite of consistent efforts, these HATs have not yet been detected by ChIP on E2F target genes (see Results) (47). Nonetheless, their interaction with E2F strongly suggests that they are also recruited to chromatin.
Altogether, the available data suggest that a complex web of histone modifications occurs on E2F target genes. In particular, hyperacetylation of H3 and H4 is likely to reflect modification of various lysines in their N-terminal tails, catalyzed by multiple HATs, which include p300/CBP, GCN5/PCAF, Tip60, and possibly other, yet unidentified species. In this context, it is worth reminding that while H4 acetylation in late G1 was fully dependent upon activating E2Fs, a substantial fraction of H3 acetylation was not and occurred upon mere dissociation of repressive E2F4-p130-HDAC complexes. It is tempting to speculate that, in the order of events leading to transcriptional activation of target genes, E2F-independent H3 acetylation may be a prerequisite for chromatin association of E2F1 to -3 and subsequent acetylation of both H3 and H4. Current models predict that different histone modifications determine the specificity of downstream responses (42, 46). Understanding E2F-regulated transcription will require systematic analysis of all HATs and acetylated lysines that occur on target promoters.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank Kristian Helin for reagents and for critical reading
of the manuscript, Sandra Zurawski for the purification of adenoviruses,
and Emma Lees for her support.
DNAX is supported by Schering-Plough Corp. Work in Bruno Amati's lab at the European Institute of Oncology is supported by the Italian Association for Cancer Research (AIRC) and the Italian Health Ministry.

FOOTNOTES
* Corresponding author. Mailing address: European Institute of Oncology, Via Ripamonti 435, 20141 Milan, Italy. Phone: 39 02 57 489 824. Fax: 39 02 57 489 851. E-mail:
bruno.amati{at}ieo-research.it.

Present address: Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143. 
Present address: Boston Biomedical Research Institute, Watertown, MA 02472. 
Present address: Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 
¶ Present address: Europroteome AG, D-16761 Hennigsdorf, Germany. 

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Molecular and Cellular Biology, May 2004, p. 4546-4556, Vol. 24, No. 10
0270-7306/04/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/MCB.24.10.4546-4556.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
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