Mutants were produced in the A-domain of HbpR, a protein belonging to the XylR family of σ(54)-dependent transcription activators, with the purpose of changing its effector recognition specificity from 2-hydroxybiphenyl (2-HBP, the cognate effector) to 2-chlorobiphenyl (2-CBP). Mutations were introduced in the hbpR gene part for the A-domain via error-prone polymerase chain reaction, and assemb...

The recurring translocation t(11;16)(q23;p13.3) has been documented only in cases of acute leukemia or myelodysplasia secondary to therapy with drugs targeting DNA topoisomerase II. We show that the MLL gene is fused to the gene that codes for CBP (CREB-binding protein), the protein that binds specifically to the DNA-binding protein CREB (cAMP response element-binding protein) in this transloca...

Remodeling chromatin is essential for cAMP-regulated gene expression, necessary not only for development but also for memory storage and other enduring mental states. Histone acetylation and deacetylation mediate long-lasting forms of synaptic plasticity in Aplysia as well as cognition in mice. Here, we show that histone acetylation by the cAMP-response element binding protein (CREB)-binding pr...

Dynamic control of interferon-beta (IFN-beta) gene expression requires the regulated assembly and disassembly of the enhanceosome, a higher-order nucleoprotein complex formed in response to virus infection. The enhanceosome activates transcription by recruiting the histone acetyltransferase proteins CREB binding protein (CBP) and p300/CBP-associated factors (PCAF)/GCN5, which, in addition to mo...

In mammalian germ cells, meiotic commitment requires the expression of Stimulated by retinoic acid gene 8 (Stra8), which is transcriptionally activated by retinoic acid (RA). However, little is known about the epigenetic mechanism by which RA induces Stra8 expression. Utilizing a chromatin immunoprecipitation assay (ChIP), we showed that RA increases histone acetylation at the Stra8 promoter in...

Mutations in the gene encoding CREB-binding protein (CBP) cause deficits in long-term plasticity, learning, and memory. Here, long-term synaptic facilitation (LTF) at Aplysia sensorimotor synapses in cell culture was used as a model system to investigate methods for overcoming deficits in LTF produced by a CBP knockdown. Injecting CBP-siRNA into individual sensory neurons reduced CBP levels and...

The CBP co-activator protein possesses an intrinsic acetyltransferase (AT) activity capable of acetylating nucleosomal histones, as well as other proteins such as the transcription factors TFIIE and TFIIF. In addition, CBP associates with two other TSs, P/CAF and SRC1. We set out to establish whether the intrinsic AT activity of CBP contributes to transcriptional activation. We show that a regi...

p300/CBP transcriptional co-activator proteins play a central role in co-ordinating and integrating multiple signal-dependent events with the transcription apparatus, allowing the appropriate level of gene activity to occur in response to diverse physiological cues that influence, for example, proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. p300/CBP activity can be under aberrant control in human...

We identify a secreted chemokine inhibitor encoded by orf virus (ORFV), the prototypic poxvirus of the Parapoxvirus genus, and show that it is related to the poxvirus type II CC-chemokine-binding proteins (CBP-II) produced by members of the Orthopoxvirus and Leporipoxvirus genera. The ORFV chemokine-binding protein (CBP) is functionally similar to the CBP-II proteins in its ability to bind and ...

Insulin resistance and elevated glucagon levels result in nonsuppressible hepatic glucose production and hyperglycemia in patients with type 2 diabetes. The CREB coactivator complex controls transcription of hepatic gluconeogenic enzyme genes. Here, we show that both the antidiabetic agent metformin and insulin phosphorylate the transcriptional coactivator CREB binding protein (CBP) at serine 4...