p300 is an obligate integrator of combinatorial transcription factor inputs.

Transcription coactivators are proteins or protein complexes that mediate transcription factor (TF) function. However, they lack DNA-binding capacity, prompting the question of how they engage target loci. Three non-exclusive hypotheses have been posited: coactivators are recruited by complexing with TFs, by binding histones through epigenetic reader domains, or by partitioning into condensates through their extensive intrinsically disordered regions. Using p300 as a prototypical coactivator, we systematically mutated its annotated domains and show by single-molecule tracking in live U2OS cells that coactivator-chromatin binding depends entirely on combinatorial binding of multiple TF-interaction domains. Furthermore, we demonstrate that acetyltransferase activity opposes p300-chromatin association and that the N-terminal TF-interaction domains regulate that activity. Single TF-interaction domains are insufficient for chromatin binding and regulation of catalytic activity, implying a principle that we speculate could broadly apply to eukaryotic gene regulation: a TF must act in coordination with other TFs to recruit coactivator activity.

p300 Is an Obligate Integrator of Combinatorial Transcription Factor Inputs.

Transcription coactivators are proteins or protein complexes that mediate transcription factor (TF) function. However, they lack DNA binding capacity, prompting the question of how they engage target loci. Three non-exclusive hypotheses have been posited: coactivators are recruited by complexing with TFs, by binding histones through epigenetic reader domains, or by partitioning into phase-separated compartments through their extensive intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs). Using p300 as a prototypical coactivator, we systematically mutated its annotated domains and show by single-molecule tracking in live cells that coactivator-chromatin binding depends entirely on combinatorial binding of multiple TF-interaction domains. Furthermore, we demonstrate that acetyltransferase activity negatively impacts p300-chromatin association and that the N-terminal TF-interaction domains regulate that activity. Single TF-interaction domains are insufficient for both chromatin binding and regulation of catalytic activity, implying a principle that could broadly inform eukaryotic gene regulation: a TF must act in coordination with other TFs to recruit coactivator activity.

"Structure"-function relationships in eukaryotic transcription factors: The role of intrinsically disordered regions in gene regulation.

Many principles of bacterial gene regulation have been foundational to understanding mechanisms of eukaryotic transcription. However, stark structural and functional differences exist between eukaryotic and bacterial transcription factors that complicate inferring properties of the eukaryotic system from that of bacteria. Here, we review those differences, focusing on the impact of intrinsically disordered regions on the thermodynamic and kinetic parameters governing eukaryotic transcription factor interactions-both with other proteins and with chromatin. The prevalence of unstructured domains in eukaryotic transcription factors as well as their known impact on function call for more sophisticated knowledge of what mechanisms they support. Using the evidence available to date, we posit that intrinsically disordered regions are necessary for the complex and integrative functions of eukaryotic transcription factors and that only by understanding their rich biochemistry can we develop a deep molecular understanding of their regulatory mechanisms.

The transcription factor activity gradient (TAG) model: contemplating a contact-independent mechanism for enhancer-promoter communication.

How distal cis-regulatory elements (e.g., enhancers) communicate with promoters remains an unresolved question of fundamental importance. Although transcription factors and cofactors are known to mediate this communication, the mechanism by which diffusible molecules relay regulatory information from one position to another along the chromosome is a biophysical puzzle-one that needs to be revisited in light of recent data that cannot easily fit into previous solutions. Here we propose a new model that diverges from the textbook enhancer-promoter looping paradigm and offer a synthesis of the literature to make a case for its plausibility, focusing on the coactivator p300.

Self-guarding of MORC3 enables virulence factor-triggered immunity.

Pathogens use virulence factors to inhibit the immune system1. The guard hypothesis2,3 postulates that hosts monitor (or 'guard') critical innate immune pathways such that their disruption by virulence factors provokes a secondary immune response1. Here we describe a 'self-guarded' immune pathway in human monocytes, in which guarding and guarded functions are combined in one protein. We find that this pathway is triggered by ICP0, a key virulence factor of herpes simplex virus type 1, resulting in robust induction of anti-viral type I interferon (IFN). Notably, induction of IFN by ICP0 is independent of canonical immune pathways and the IRF3 and IRF7 transcription factors. A CRISPR screen identified the ICP0 target MORC34 as an essential negative regulator of IFN. Loss of MORC3 recapitulates the IRF3- and IRF7-independent IFN response induced by ICP0. Mechanistically, ICP0 degrades MORC3, which leads to de-repression of a MORC3-regulated DNA element (MRE) adjacent to the IFNB1 locus. The MRE is required in cis for IFNB1 induction by the MORC3 pathway, but is not required for canonical IFN-inducing pathways. As well as repressing the MRE to regulate IFNB1, MORC3 is also a direct restriction factor of HSV-15. Our results thus suggest a model in which the primary anti-viral function of MORC3 is self-guarded by its secondary IFN-repressing function-thus, a virus that degrades MORC3 to avoid its primary anti-viral function will unleash the secondary anti-viral IFN response.

ATP Is an Allosteric Inhibitor of Coxsackievirus B3 Polymerase.

The RNA-dependent RNA polymerases from positive-strand RNA viruses, such as picornaviruses and flaviviruses, close their active sites for catalysis via a unique NTP-induced conformational change in the palm domain. Combined with a fully prepositioned templating nucleotide, this mechanism is error-prone and results in a distribution of random mutations in the viral progeny often described as a quasi-species. Here we examine the extent to which noncognate NTPs competitively inhibit single-cycle elongation by coxsackievirus B3 3D(pol), a polymerase that generates three to four mutations per 10 kb of RNA synthesized during viral infection. Using an RNA with a templating guanosine combined with 2-aminopurine fluorescence as a reporter for elongation, we find that the cognate CTP has a Km of 24 µM and the three noncognate nucleotides competitively inhibit the reaction with Kic values of 500 µM for GTP, 1300 µM for ATP, and 3000 µM for UTP. Unexpectedly, ATP also acted as an uncompetitive inhibitor with a Kiu of 1800 µM, resulting in allosteric modulation of 3D(pol) that slowed the polymerase elongation rate ≈4-fold. ATP uncompetitive inhibition required the ß- and γ-phosphates, and its extent was significantly diminished in two previously characterized low-fidelity polymerases. This led to further mutational analysis and the identification of a putative allosteric binding site below the NTP entry channel at the interface of conserved motifs A and D, although cocrystallization failed to reveal any density for bound ATP in this pocket. The potential role of an ATP allosteric effect during the virus life cycle is discussed.