H1TF2A, the Large Subunit of a Heterodimeric, Glutamine-Rich CCAAT-Binding Transcription Factor Involved in Histone H1 Cell Cycle Regulation

Abstract

H1TF2 is a CCAAT transcription factor that binds to the histone H1 subtype-specific consensus sequence, which has previously been shown to be necessary for temporal regulation of histone H1 transcription during the cell cycle (F. La Bella, P. Gallinari, J. McKinney, and N. Heintz, Genes Dev. 3:1982-1990, 1989). In this study, we report that H1TF2 is a heteromeric CCAAT-binding protein composed of two polypeptide doublets of 33 and 34 kDa and 43 and 44 kDa that are not antigenically related. The 33- and 34-kDa species were not detected in our previous studies (P. Gallinari, F. La Bella, and N. Heintz, Mol. Cell. Biol. 9:1566-1575, 1989) because of technical problems in detection of these heavily glycosylated subunits. The cloning of H1TF2A, the large subunit of this factor, reveals it to be a glutamine-rich protein with extremely limited similarity to previously cloned CCAAT-binding proteins. A monospecific antiserum produced against bacterially synthesized H1TF2A was used to establish that HeLa cell H1TF2A is phosphorylated in vivo and that, in contrast to the H2b transcription factor Oct1 (S. B. Roberts, N. Segil, and N. Heintz, Science 253:1022-1026, 1991; N. Segil, S. B. Roberts, and N. Heintz, Cold Spring Harbor Symp. Quant. Biol. 56:285-292, 1991), no gross change in H1TF2A phosphorylation is evident during the cell cycle. Further immunoprecipitation studies demonstrated that H1TF2 is heterodimeric in the absence of DNA in vivo and identified several H1TF2-interacting proteins that may play a role in H1TF2 function in vivo.