Eukaryotic Cell
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Other Versions of this Article:
EC.00315-07v1
7/2/294    most recent
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 Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Tommasino, N.
Right arrow Articles by Del Poeta, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Tommasino, N.
Right arrow Articles by Del Poeta, M.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Eukaryotic Cell, February 2008, p. 294-301, Vol. 7, No. 2
1535-9778/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/EC.00315-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Atf2 Transcription Factor Binds to the APP1 Promoter in Cryptococcus neoformans: Stimulatory Effect of Diacylglycerol{triangledown}

Nicola Tommasino,1 Maristella Villani,1 Asfia Qureshi,1 Jennifer Henry,1 Chiara Luberto,1 and Maurizio Del Poeta1,2,3*

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,1 Department of Microbiology and Immunology,2 Division of Infectious Diseases, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina 294253

Received 24 August 2007/ Accepted 12 November 2007

The fungus Cryptococcus neoformans is an environmental human pathogen which enters the lung via the respiratory tract and produces a unique protein, called antiphagocytic protein 1 (App1), that protects it from phagocytosis by macrophages. In previous studies, we proposed genetic evidences that transcription of APP1 is controlled by the enzymatic reaction catalyzed by inositol phosphorylceramide synthase 1 (Ipc1) via the production of diacylglycerol through the activating transcription factor 2 (Atf2). We investigated here the mechanism by which Atf2 binds to the APP1 promoter in vitro and in vivo. To this end, we produced Atf2 recombinant proteins (rAtf2) and found that rAtf2 binds to ATF cis-acting element present in the APP1 promoter. Indeed, mutation of two key nucleotides in the ATF consensus sequence abolishes the binding of rAtf2 to the APP1 promoter. Next, we produced C. neoformans strains with a hemagglutinin-tagged ATF2 gene and showed that endogenous Atf2 binds to APP1 promoter in vivo. Finally, by a novel DNA protein-binding precipitation assay, we showed that treatment with 1,2-dioctanoylglycerol positively increases binding of Atf2-APP1 promoter in vivo. These studies provide new insights into the molecular mechanism by which Atf2 regulates APP1 transcription in vivo with important implications for a better understanding of how C. neoformans escapes the phagocytic process.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, 173 Ashley Ave., BSB 503, Charleston, SC 29425. Phone: (843) 792-8381. Fax: (843) 792-8565. E-mail: delpoeta{at}musc.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 14 December 2007.

Eukaryotic Cell, February 2008, p. 294-301, Vol. 7, No. 2
1535-9778/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/EC.00315-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Appl. Environ. Microbiol. Infect. Immun. J. Bacteriol.
Mol. Cell Biol. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. ALL ASM JOURNALS
Copyright © 2008 by the American Society for Microbiology.