MCB
Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Satijn, D. P. E.
Right arrow Articles by Otte, A. P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Satijn, D. P. E.
Right arrow Articles by Otte, A. P.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Molecular and Cellular Biology, February 2001, p. 1360-1369, Vol. 21, No. 4
0270-7306/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/MCB.21.4.1360-1369.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

The Polycomb Group Protein EED Interacts with YY1, and Both Proteins Induce Neural Tissue in Xenopus Embryos

David P. E. Satijn,dagger Karien M. Hamer, Jan den Blaauwen, and Arie P. Otte*

Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, BioCentrum Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam, 1018 TV Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Received 17 August 2000/Returned for modification 14 September 2000/Accepted 27 October 2000

Polycomb group (PcG) proteins form multimeric protein complexes which are involved in the heritable stable repression of genes. Previously, we identified two distinct human PcG protein complexes. The EED-EZH protein complex contains the EED and EZH2 PcG proteins, and the HPC-HPH PcG complex contains the HPC, HPH, BMI1, and RING1 PcG proteins. Here we show that YY1, a homolog of the Drosophila PcG protein pleiohomeotic (Pho), interacts specificially with the human PcG protein EED but not with proteins of the HPC-HPH PcG complex. Since YY1 and Pho are DNA-binding proteins, the interaction between YY1 and EED provides a direct link between the chromatin-associated EED-EZH PcG complex and the DNA of target genes. To study the functional significance of the interaction, we expressed the Xenopus homologs of EED and YY1 in Xenopus embryos. Both Xeed and XYY1 induce an ectopic neural axis but do not induce mesodermal tissues. In contrast, members of the HPC-HPH PcG complex do not induce neural tissue. The exclusive, direct neuralizing activity of both the Xeed and XYY1 proteins underlines the significance of the interaction between the two proteins. Our data also indicate a role for chromatin-associated proteins, such as PcG proteins, in Xenopus neural induction.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, BioCentrum Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam, Plantage Muidergracht 12, 1018 TV Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Phone: 31-20-5255115. Fax: 31-20-5255090. E-mail: arie.otte{at}chem.uva.nl.

dagger Present address: Department of Biology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093.

Molecular and Cellular Biology, February 2001, p. 1360-1369, Vol. 21, No. 4
0270-7306/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/MCB.21.4.1360-1369.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:



Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
J. Bacteriol. J. Virol. Eukaryot. Cell
Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. Clin. Vaccine Immunol. All ASM Journals

Copyright © 2001 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.