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Functional analysis of YY1 zinc fingers through cysteine mutagenesis
Author(s) -
Chen Kuida,
Lu Yao,
Shi Ke,
Stovall Daniel B.,
Li Dangdang,
Sui Guangchao
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1002/1873-3468.13431
Subject(s) - yy1 , zinc finger , transcription factor , mutagenesis , dna , mutant , cysteine , gene , protein–dna interaction , dna binding protein , chemistry , repressor , function (biology) , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , biochemistry , gene expression , promoter , enzyme
As a transcription factor, Yin Yang 1 (YY1) either activates or represses gene expression depending on its recruited cofactors. The YY1 C‐terminal consists of four zinc fingers (ZF) that are responsible for its DNA binding. However, the contribution of each YY1 ZF to its functions have not been fully elucidated. In this study, we used alanines to replace YY1 cysteines that are crucial to ZFs in binding to DNA. We characterized these YY1 mutants for their DNA binding, transcriptional activity, and functional role in maintaining MDA‐MB‐231 cell proliferation. We demonstrated that ZFs 2 and 3 are essential to the general biological activity of YY1. ZF 1 showed relatively low importance, while ZF 4 is virtually dispensable for YY1 function.