Developmental analysis and subcellular localization of the murine homologue of ELL

Fine tuning of the transcription juggernaut: A sweet and sour saga of acetylation and ubiquitination

Among post-translational modifications of proteins, acetylation, phosphorylation, and ubiquitination are most extensively studied over the last several decades. Owing to their different target residues for modifications, cross-talk between phosphorylation with that of acetylation and ubiquitination is relatively less pronounced. However, since canonical acetylation and ubiquitination happen only on the lysine residues, an overlap of the same lysine residue being targeted for both acetylation and ubiquitination happens quite frequently and thus plays key roles in overall functional regulation predominantly through modulation of protein stability. In this review, we discuss the cross-talk of acetylation and ubiquitination in the regulation of protein stability for the functional regulation of cellular processes with an emphasis on transcriptional regulation. Further, we emphasize our understanding of the functional regulation of Super Elongation Complex (SEC)-mediated transcription, through regulation of stabilization by acetylation, deacetylation and ubiquitination and associated enzymes and its implication in human diseases.

Sequence, structural and functional conservation among the human and fission yeast ELL and EAF transcription elongation factors

BACKGROUND

Transcription elongation is a dynamic and tightly regulated step of gene expression in eukaryotic cells. Eleven nineteen Lysine rich Leukemia (ELL) and ELL Associated Factors (EAF) family of conserved proteins are required for efficient RNA polymerase II-mediated transcription elongation. Orthologs of these proteins have been identified in different organisms, including fission yeast and humans.

METHODS AND RESULTS

In the present study, we have examined the sequence, structural and functional conservation between the fission yeast and human ELL and EAF orthologs. Our computational analysis revealed that these proteins share some sequence characteristics, and were predominantly disordered in both organisms. Our functional complementation assays revealed that both human ELL and EAF proteins could complement the lack of ell1⁺ or eaf1⁺ in Schizosaccharomyces pombe respectively. Furthermore, our domain mapping experiments demonstrated that both the amino and carboxyl terminal domains of human EAF proteins could functionally complement the S. pombe eaf1 deletion phenotypes. However, only the carboxyl-terminus domain of human ELL was able to partially rescue the phenotypes associated with lack of ell1⁺ in S. pombe.

CONCLUSIONS

Collectively, our work adds ELL-EAF to the increasing list of human-yeast complementation gene pairs, wherein the simpler fission yeast can be used to further enhance our understanding of the role of these proteins in transcription elongation and human disease.

Keeping RNA polymerase II on the run: Functions of MLL fusion partners in transcriptional regulation

Since the identification of key MLL fusion partners as transcription elongation factors regulating expression of HOX cluster genes during hematopoiesis, extensive work from the last decade has resulted in significant progress in our overall mechanistic understanding of role of MLL fusion partner proteins in transcriptional regulation of diverse set of genes beyond just the HOX cluster. In this review, we are going to detail overall understanding of role of MLL fusion partner proteins in transcriptional regulation and thus provide mechanistic insights into possible MLL fusion protein-mediated transcriptional misregulation leading to aberrant hematopoiesis and leukemogenesis.

Regulation of fertility, survival, and cuticle collagen function by the Caenorhabditis elegans eaf-1 and ell-1 genes

EAF2, an androgen-regulated protein, interacts with members of the ELL (eleven-nineteen lysine-rich leukemia) transcription factor family and also acts as a tumor suppressor. Although these proteins control transcriptional elongation and perhaps modulate the effects of other transcription factors, the mechanisms of their actions remain largely unknown. To gain new insights into the biology of the EAF2 and ELL family proteins, we used Caenorhabditis elegans as a model to explore the in vivo roles of their worm orthologs. Through the use of transgenic worms, RNAi, and an eaf-1 mutant, we found that both genes are expressed in multiple cell types throughout the worm life cycle and that they play important roles in fertility, survival, and body size regulation. ELL-1 and EAF-1 likely contribute to these activities in part through modulating cuticle synthesis, given that we observed a disrupted cuticle structure in ell-1 RNAi-treated or eaf-1 mutant worms. Consistent with disruption of cuticle structure, loss of either ELL-1 or EAF-1 suppressed the rol phenotype of specific collagen mutants, possibly through the control of dpy-3, dpy-13, and sqt-3 collagen gene expression. Furthermore, we also noted the regulation of collagen expression by ELL overexpression in PC3 human prostate cancer cells. Together, these results reveal important roles for the eaf-1 and ell-1 genes in the regulation of extracellular matrix components.

The interaction between EAP30 and ELL is modulated by MCM2

ELL-associated protein 30 (EAP30) was initially characterized as a component of the Holo-ELL complex, which contains the elongation factor ELL. Both ELL and Holo-ELL stimulate RNA pol II elongation in vitro. However, ELL and not Holo-ELL inhibits RNA pol II initiation. It is not clear how these two discrete functions of ELL are regulated. Here we report that mini-chromosome maintenance 2 (MCM2) binds to EAP30 and show that MCM2 competes with ELL for binding to EAP30 thus potentially modulating the stability of Holo-ELL.

The Elongation Factor ELL (Eleven-Nineteen Lysine-Rich Leukemia) Is a Selective Coregulator for Steroid Receptor Functions

The dynamic and coordinated recruitment of coregulators by steroid receptors is critical for specific gene transcriptional activation. To identify new cofactors of the human (h) mineralocorticoid receptor (MR), its highly specific N-terminal domain was used as bait in a yeast two-hybrid approach. We isolated ELL (eleven-nineteen lysine-rich leukemia), a RNA polymerase II elongation factor which, when fused to MLL (mixed lineage leukemia) contributes to the pathogenesis of acute leukemia. Specific interaction between hMR and ELL was confirmed by glutathione-S-transferase pull-down and coimmunoprecipitation experiments. Transient transfections demonstrated that ELL increased receptor transcriptional potency and hormonal efficacy, indicating that ELL behaves as a bona fide MR coactivator. Of major interest, ELL differentially modulates steroid receptor responses, with striking opposite effects on hMR and glucocorticoid receptor-mediated transactivation, without affecting that of androgen and progesterone receptors. Furthermore, the MLL-ELL fusion protein, as well as several ELL truncated mutants and the ELL L214V mutant, lost their ability to potentiate MR transcriptional activities, suggesting that both the elongation domain and the ELL-associated factor 1 interaction domains are required for ELL to fulfill its selector activity on steroid receptors. This study is the first direct demonstration of a functional interaction between a nuclear receptor and an elongation factor. These results provide further evidence that the selectivity of the mineralo vs. glucocorticoid signaling pathways also occurs at the transcriptional complex level and may have major pathophysiological implications, most notably in leukemogenesis and corticosteroid-induced apoptosis. These findings allow us to propose the concept of "transcriptional selector" for ELL on steroid receptor transcriptional functions.

Inhibition of the canonical Wnt signaling pathway in cytoplasm: a novel property of the carboxyl terminal domains of two Xenopus ELL genes

The Wnt signaling pathways are important in many developmental events. The canonical Wnt pathway is one of the three major Wnt-mediated intracellular signaling pathways and is thought to activate Dvl followed by the stabilization of beta-catenin. In Xenopus, this pathway is involved in dorsal determination, anterior-posterior patterning during gastrulation, and neural induction. Here we describe a role for the Xenopus ELL (Eleven-nineteen Lysine-rich Leukemia) gene product in canonical Wnt signaling. Translocation of ELL has been associated with acute myeloid leukemia and the protein possesses three functional domains. We identified rELL-C from a rat brain cDNA library as a binding factor for Dishevelled (Dvl); it represents a partial sequence of rat ELL lacking the pol II elongation domain and has been shown to suppress canonical Wnt signaling. Next, we isolated two Xenopus homologs of ELL, xELL1 and xELL2. No obvious phenotypes were observed with microinjection of full-length xELL1 or xELL2 mRNA, however, microinjection with their occludin homology domain inhibited Wnt signaling at the level of Dvl and upstream of beta-catenin. Intracellular localization of microinjected xELL1- and xELL2-GFP mRNAs showed localization of the full-length products in the nucleus and the occludin-homology domain products in cytoplasm. These results raise the possibility that ELL, which is thought to function as a transcription factor in nuclei, can serve other, novel roles to suppress canonical Wnt signaling in the cytoplasm.

Expression of murine ELL-associated factor 2 (Eaf2) is developmentally regulated

Eaf2, ELL-associated factor 2, encodes a protein that is homologous to the human EAF1, which was shown to interact with the transcriptional elongation factor MEN/ELL. During mouse embryogenesis, Eaf2 is preferentially expressed in the central nervous system and in sensory and neuroendocrine organs, including the brain, spinal cord, cranial and spinal ganglia, developing otocyst, the retina, and the pituitary. Eaf2 transcripts were also found in sites where active epithelium-mesenchymal interactions are occurring. These included the invaginating tooth buds, mammary gland anlage, submandibular glands, the lung, the pancreas, and the kidney. Other sites of expression included bladder and intestine. In the developing lens, Eaf2 transcripts were absent in the proliferating anterior lens epithelial cells but were present in the terminally differentiated primary lens fiber cells and also in nonproliferating lens fiber cells in the equatorial zone where lens epithelial cells withdraw from cell cycle and terminally differentiate into secondary lens fiber cells. This spatially restricted pattern of Eaf2 expression in the developing lens suggests that Eaf2 may play an important role in regulating lens maturation.

Analysis of zinc-fingers and homeoboxes (ZHX)-1-interacting proteins: molecular cloning and characterization of a member of the ZHX family, ZHX3

Human zinc-fingers and homeoboxes (ZHX) 1, a transcriptional repressor, was originally cloned as an interacting protein with the activation domain of the A subunit of nuclear factor-Y (NF-YA). As the first step in investigating the mechanism by which ZHX1 acts as a transcriptional repressor, we conducted a search of ZHX1-interacting proteins using a yeast two-hybrid system. Nuclear proteins such as ZHX1, transcriptional co-factors and DNA-binding proteins, zyxin, androgen-induced aldose reductase and eleven-nineteen lysine-rich leukaemia gene, as well as some unknown proteins, were cloned. Molecular cloning and determination of the nucleotide sequence of the full-length cDNA encoding a novel protein revealed that it consists of 956 amino acid residues and contains two zinc-finger (Znf) motifs and five homeodomains (HDs) as well as ZHX1. We concluded that the protein forms the ZHX family with ZHX1 and denoted it ZHX3. ZHX3 not only dimerizes with both ZHX1 and ZHX3, but also interacts with the activation domain of the NF-YA. Further analysis revealed that ZHX3 is a ubiquitous transcriptional repressor that is localized in nuclei and functions as a dimer. Lastly, the dimerization domain, the interaction domain with NF-YA, and the repressor domain are mapped to a region including the HD1 region, and two nuclear localization signals are mapped to the N-terminal through Znf1 and the HD2 region, respectively.

ELL-associated factor 2 (EAF2), a functional homolog of EAF1 with alternative ELL binding properties

The (11;19)(q23;p13.1) translocation in acute leukemia results in the formation of an MLL-ELL fusion protein. ELL is an RNA polymerase II elongation factor that interacts with the recently identified EAF1 protein. To characterize the normal functions of ELL and its aberrant activities when fused to MLL, we isolated a second protein that interacts with ELL named EAF2 for ELL Associated Factor 2. EAF2 is highly homologous to EAF1, with 58% identity and 74% amino acid conservation. Using specific antibodies generated to EAF2, we coimmunoprecipitated ELL and EAF2 from multiple cell lines. Confocal microscopy revealed that endogenous EAF2 and ELL colocalized in a nuclear speckled pattern. Database comparisons with EAF2 identified a region with a high content of serine, aspartic acid, and glutamic acid residues that is conserved with EAF1 and exhibited amino acid similarity with several translocation partner proteins of MLL, including AF4 and ENL. We found that EAF2 and EAF1 both contain transcriptional activation domains within this region. Using retroviral bone marrow transduction, we observed that a heterologous fusion of EAF2 to MLL immortalized hematopoietic progenitor cells. In contrast to EAF1, EAF2 does not bind to the carboxy-terminus of ELL. We identified a protein-protein interaction domain within the amino-terminus of ELL that binds to both EAF1 and EAF2. This amino-terminal interaction domain is disrupted in the formation of the MLL-ELL fusion protein. Thus, MLL-ELL retains an interaction domain for EAF1 but not for EAF2. Taken together, these data suggest that MLL-ELL may disrupt the normal protein-protein interactions of ELL.

dELL is an essential RNA polymerase II elongation factor with a general role in development

Several eukaryotic proteins increase RNA polymerase II (Pol II) transcription rates in vitro. The relative contributions of these factors to gene expression in vivo is unknown. The ELL family of proteins promote Pol II elongation in vitro, and the Drosophila ELL homolog (dELL) is associated with Pol II at sites of transcription in vivo. The purpose of this study was to test whether an ELL family protein is required for gene expression in vivo. We show that dELL is encoded by the Suppressor of Triplo-lethal locus [Su(Tpl)]. We have characterized seven distinct mutant alleles of Su(Tpl) and show that a dELL transgene rescues recessive lethality of Su(Tpl). Su(Tpl) mutations cause abnormal embryonic segmentation and dominantly modify expression of diverse genes during development. These data show that an ELL family elongation factor is essential, acts broadly in development, and is not functionally redundant to other elongation factors in vivo.

Drosophila ELL is associated with actively elongating RNA polymerase II on transcriptionally active sites in vivo

Several factors have been biochemically characterized based on their ability to increase the overall rate of transcription elongation catalyzed by the multiprotein complex RNA polymerase II (Pol II). Among these, the ELL family of elongation factors has been shown to increase the catalytic rate of transcription elongation in vitro by suppressing transient pausing. Several fundamental biological aspects of this class of elongation factors are not known. We have cloned the Drosophila homolog (dELL) in order to test whether ELL family proteins are actually associated with the elongating Pol II in vivo. Here we report that dELL is a nuclear protein, which, like its mammalian homologs, can increase the catalytic rate of transcription elongation by Pol II in vitro. Interestingly, we find that dELL co-localizes extensively with the phosphorylated, actively elongating form of Pol II at transcriptionally active sites on Drosophila polytene chromosomes. Furthermore, dELL is relocalized from a widespread distribution pattern on polytenes under normal conditions to very few transcriptionally active puff sites upon heat shock. This observation indicates a dynamic pattern of localization of dELL in cells, which is a predicted characteristic of a Pol II general elongation factor. We also demonstrate that dELL physically interacts with Pol II. Our results strongly suggest that dELL functions with elongating RNA polymerase II in vivo.

The elongation domain of ELL is dispensable but its ELL-associated factor 1 interaction domain is essential for MLL-ELL-induced leukemogenesis

The MLL-ELL chimeric gene is the product of the (11;19)(q23p13.1) translocation associated with de novo and therapy-related acute myeloid leukemias (AML). ELL is an RNA polymerase II elongation factor that interacts with the recently identified EAF1 (ELL associated factor 1) protein. EAF1 contains a limited region of homology with the transcriptional activation domains of three other genes fused to MLL in leukemias, AF4, LAF4, and AF5q31. Using an in vitro transformation assay of retrovirally transduced myeloid progenitors, we conducted a structure-function analysis of MLL-ELL. Whereas the elongation domain of ELL was dispensable, the EAF1 interaction domain of ELL was critical to the immortalizing properties of MLL-ELL in vitro. To confirm these results in vivo, we transplanted mice with bone marrow transduced with MLL fused to the minimal EAF1 interaction domain of ELL. These mice all developed AML, with a longer latency than mice transplanted with the wild-type MLL-ELL fusion. Based on these results, we generated a heterologous MLL-EAF1 fusion gene and analyzed its transforming potential. Strikingly, we found that MLL-EAF1 immortalized myeloid progenitors in the same manner as that of MLL-ELL. Furthermore, transplantation of bone marrow transduced with MLL-EAF1 induced AML with a shorter latency than mice transplanted with the MLL-ELL fusion. Taken together, these results indicate that the leukemic activity of MLL-ELL requires the EAF1 interaction domain of ELL, suggesting that the recruitment by MLL of a transactivation domain similar to that in EAF1 or the AF4/LAF4/AF5q31 family may be a critical common feature of multiple 11q23 translocations. In addition, these studies support a critical role for MLL partner genes and their protein-protein interactions in 11q23 leukemogenesis.

EAF1, a novel ELL-associated factor that is delocalized by expression of the MLL-ELL fusion protein

The (11;19)(q23;p13.1) translocation in acute leukemia leads to the generation of a chimeric protein that fuses MLL to the transcriptional elongation factor ELL. A novel protein was isolated from a yeast 2-hybrid screen with ELL that was named EAF1 for ELL-associated factor 1. Using specific antibodies, the endogenous EAF1 and ELL proteins were coimmunoprecipitated from multiple cell lines. In addition, endogenous EAF1 also exhibited the capacity to interact with ELL2. Database comparisons with EAF1 identified a region with a high content of serine, aspartic acid, and glutamic acid residues that exhibited homology with the transcriptional activation domains of several translocation partner proteins of MLL, including AF4, LAF4, and AF5q31. A similar transcriptional activation domain has been identified in this region of EAF1. By confocal microscopy, endogenous EAF1 and ELL colocalized in a distinct nuclear speckled pattern. Transfection of the MLL-ELL fusion gene delocalized EAF1 from its nuclear speckled distribution to a diffuse nucleoplasmic pattern. In leukemic cell lines derived from mice transplanted with MLL-ELL-transduced bone marrow, EAF1 speckles were not detected. Taken together, these data suggest that expression of the MLL-ELL fusion protein may have a dominant effect on the normal protein-protein interactions of ELL.

Nonredundant roles of the elongation factor MEN in postimplantation development

The MEN/ELL gene was cloned as a fusion partner of the MLL gene in the t(11;19)(q23;p13.1) translocation, which is found in adult myeloid leukemia. MEN belongs to a family of RNA polymerase II elongation factors and dysregulated production of MEN through the MLL promoter could cause malignant transformation of myeloid cells. To pursue the physiological role and determine the requirement of the MEN gene product in mouse development, we generated knockout mice (MEN-/-) by gene targeting in embryonic stem cells. After intercrossing heterozygous mice to generate homozygous mutants, we identified no homozygotes (MEN-/-) even at E9.5, as well as after birth, by Southern analysis. Moreover, histological examinations revealed degenerative changes in nearly one-fourth of E6.5 embryos, which were gradually resorbed by E8.5. Our findings demonstrated that MEN-/- mice are embryonic lethal, and die before E6.5 and after implantation. MEN should play a nonredundant role in postimplantation development of mice.

Identification, cloning, expression, and biochemical characterization of the testis-specific RNA polymerase II elongation factor ELL3

The human ELL gene, which is a frequent target for translocation in acute myeloid leukemia, was initially isolated from rat liver nuclei and found to be an RNA polymerase II elongation factor. Based on homology to ELL, we later cloned ELL2 and demonstrated that it can also increase the catalytic rate of transcription elongation by RNA polymerase II. To better understand the role of ELL proteins in the regulation of transcription by RNA polymerase II, we have initiated a search for proteins related to ELLs. In this report, we describe the molecular cloning, expression, and characterization of ELL3, a novel RNA polymerase II elongation factor approximately 50% similar to both ELL and ELL2. Our transcriptional studies have demonstrated that ELL3 can also increase the catalytic rate of transcription elongation by RNA polymerase II. The C-terminal domain of ELL, which we recently demonstrated to be required and sufficient for the immortalization of myeloid progenitor cells, shares strong similarities to the C-terminal domain of ELL3. ELL3 was localized by immunofluorescence to the nucleus of cells, and Northern analysis indicated that ELL3 is a testis-specific RNA polymerase II elongation factor.

Retrovirus-mediated gene transfer of MLL-ELL transforms primary myeloid progenitors and causes acute myeloid leukemias in mice

The MLL-ELL fusion gene results from the translocation t(11;19)(q23;p13.1) that is associated with de novo and therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia. To study its transforming properties, we retrovirally transduced primary murine hematopoietic progenitors and assessed their growth properties both in vitro and in vivo. MLL-ELL increased the proliferation of myeloid colony-forming cells in methylcellulose cultures upon serial replating, whereas overexpression of ELL alone had no effect. We reconstituted lethally irradiated congenic mice with bone marrow progenitors transduced with MLL-ELL or the control MIE vector encoding the enhanced green fluorescent protein. When the peripheral blood of the mice was analyzed 11-13 weeks postreconstitution, we found that the engraftment of the MLL-ELL-transduced cells was superior to that of the MIE controls. At this time point, the contribution of the donor cells was normally distributed among the myeloid and nonmyeloid compartments. Although all of the MIE animals (n = 10) remained healthy for more than a year, all of the MLL-ELL mice (n = 20) succumbed to monoclonal or pauciclonal acute myeloid leukemias within 100-200 days. The leukemic cells were readily transplantable to secondary recipients and could be established as immortalized cell lines in liquid cultures. These studies demonstrate the enhancing effect of MLL-ELL on the proliferative potential of myeloid progenitors as well as its causal role in the genesis of acute myeloid leukemias.

Transcription elongation and human disease

Eukaryotic mRNA synthesis is catalyzed by multisubunit RNA polymerase II and proceeds through multiple stages referred to as preinitiation, initiation, elongation, and termination. Over the past 20 years, biochemical studies of eukaryotic mRNA synthesis have largely focused on the preinitiation and initiation stages of transcription. These studies led to the discovery of the class of general initiation factors (TFIIB, TFIID, TFIIE, TFIIF, and TFIIH), which function in intimate association with RNA polymerase II and are required for selective binding of polymerase to its promoters, formation of the open complex, and synthesis of the first few phosphodiester bonds of nascent transcripts. Recently, biochemical studies of the elongation stage of eukaryotic mRNA synthesis have led to the discovery of several cellular proteins that have properties expected of general elongation factors and that have been found to play unanticipated roles in human disease. Among these candidate general elongation factors are the positive transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb), eleven-nineteen lysine-rich in leukemia (ELL), Cockayne syndrome complementation group B (CSB), and elongin proteins, which all function in vitro to expedite elongation by RNA polymerase II by suppressing transient pausing or premature arrest by polymerase through direct interactions with the elongation complex. Despite their similar activities in elongation, the P-TEFb, ELL, CSB, and elongin proteins appear to play roles in a diverse collection of human diseases, including human immunodeficiency virus-1 infection, acute myeloid leukemia, Cockayne syndrome, and the familial cancer predisposition syndrome von Hippel-Lindau disease. here we review our current understanding of the P-TEFb, ELL, CSB, and elongin proteins, their mechanisms of action, and their roles in human disease.

Physical interaction and functional antagonism between the RNA polymerase II elongation factor ELL and p53

ELL was originally identified as a gene that undergoes translocation with the trithorax-like MLL gene in acute myeloid leukemia. Recent studies have shown that the gene product, ELL, functions as an RNA polymerase II elongation factor that increases the rate of transcription by RNA polymerase II by suppressing transient pausing. Using yeast two-hybrid screening with ELL as bait, we isolated the p53 tumor suppressor protein as a specific interactor of ELL. The interaction involves respectively the transcription elongation activation domain of ELL and the C-terminal tail of p53. Through this interaction, ELL inhibits both sequence-specific transactivation and sequence-independent transrepression by p53. Thus, ELL acts as a negative regulator of p53 in transcription. Conversely, p53 inhibits the transcription elongation activity of ELL, suggesting that p53 is capable of regulating general transcription by RNA polymerase II through controlling the ELL activity. Elevated levels of ELL in cells resulted in the inhibition of p53-dependent induction of endogenous p21 and substantially protected cells from p53-mediated apoptosis that is induced by genotoxic stress. Our observations indicate the existence of a mutually inhibitory interaction between p53 and a general transcription elongation factor ELL and raise the possibility that an aberrant interaction between p53 and ELL may play a role in the genesis of leukemias carrying MLL-ELL gene translocations.

AF4 Encodes a Ubiquitous Protein That in Both Native and MLL-AF4 Fusion Types Localizes to Subnuclear Compartments

Acute leukemia with t(4;11)(q21,q23) translocation results from the in-frame fusion of the MLL to the AF4/FEL gene. In previous studies, we and others demonstrated that AF4 transcripts are present in a variety of hematopoietic and nonhematopoietic human cells. To further study the wild-type and leukemia fusion AF4, we used glutathione S-transferase (GST)-fusion proteins as immunogens to produce rabbit polyclonal antibodies that were specific for normal and chimeric AF4 proteins. Using Western blotting analysis, we demonstrated that the AF4 gene encodes proteins with apparent molecular weight of 125 and 145 kD. A 45-kD protein coprecipitated with AF4 protein in immunoprecipitation. Also, the anticipated MLL-AF4–encoded 240-kD protein was detected in all cell lines with t(4;11) translocations; fusion proteins were present in lesser quantity than the wild-type AF4. The proteins recognized by the antibodies are of the predicted sizes of the AF4 and MLL-AF4–encoded proteins based on previous DNA sequencing analysis. The MLL-AF4 fusion protein had a similar subcellular distribution as AF4. Both t(4;11) and non-t(4;11) leukemic cells showed a similar pattern of punctate nuclear staining in all cell lines tested using confocal immunofluorescence microscopy. AF4 antibodies should be useful for further elucidation of the function of AF4 in normal cellular physiology, as well as the function of MLL-AF4 in leukemogenesis. The antibodies should also be helpful for the diagnosis of the MLL-AF4 fusion proteins in t(4;11) leukemias.

AF4 Encodes a Ubiquitous Protein That in Both Native and MLL-AF4 Fusion Types Localizes to Subnuclear Compartments

Acute leukemia with t(4;11)(q21,q23) translocation results from the in-frame fusion of the MLL to the AF4/FEL gene. In previous studies, we and others demonstrated that AF4 transcripts are present in a variety of hematopoietic and nonhematopoietic human cells. To further study the wild-type and leukemia fusion AF4, we used glutathione S-transferase (GST)-fusion proteins as immunogens to produce rabbit polyclonal antibodies that were specific for normal and chimeric AF4 proteins. Using Western blotting analysis, we demonstrated that the AF4 gene encodes proteins with apparent molecular weight of 125 and 145 kD. A 45-kD protein coprecipitated with AF4 protein in immunoprecipitation. Also, the anticipated MLL-AF4–encoded 240-kD protein was detected in all cell lines with t(4;11) translocations; fusion proteins were present in lesser quantity than the wild-type AF4. The proteins recognized by the antibodies are of the predicted sizes of the AF4 and MLL-AF4–encoded proteins based on previous DNA sequencing analysis. The MLL-AF4 fusion protein had a similar subcellular distribution as AF4. Both t(4;11) and non-t(4;11) leukemic cells showed a similar pattern of punctate nuclear staining in all cell lines tested using confocal immunofluorescence microscopy. AF4 antibodies should be useful for further elucidation of the function of AF4 in normal cellular physiology, as well as the function of MLL-AF4 in leukemogenesis. The antibodies should also be helpful for the diagnosis of the MLL-AF4 fusion proteins in t(4;11) leukemias.

Overexpression of the MEN/ELL protein, an RNA polymerase II elongation factor, results in transformation of Rat1 cells with dependence on the lysine-rich region

The MEN gene (also called ELL) encodes an RNA polymerase II elongation factor that has been implicated in t(11;19)(q23;p13.1) translocation in myeloid leukemias. The function of another elongation factor, elongin, is known to be inhibited by VHL tumor suppressor protein in vitro, suggesting the possible relationship of aberrant transcriptional elongation to oncogenesis. We overexpressed the MEN protein in Rat1 fibroblasts to evaluate its transforming activity. MEN-overexpressing cells acquired the capacity for anchorage-independent growth. In addition, the growth factor requirement was decreased in these cells. However, cells expressing a deletion mutant of MEN lacking the lysine-rich region did not exhibit such biological abilities. c-Fos protein expression and AP-1 activity were elevated in the MEN-expressing cells, which might be part of the mechanism responsible for the transformation. The c-fos mRNA, the expression of which is known to be regulated partly at the stage of transcriptional elongation, appeared earlier in the MEN-expressing cells than in cells transfected with an empty vector or the deletion mutant lacking the lysine-rich region after stimulation with epidermal growth factor. The RNA polymerase II elongation factor MEN may play an important role in the regulation of cell proliferation.

Structure and function of RNA polymerase II elongation factor ELL. Identification of two overlapping ELL functional domains that govern its interaction with polymerase and the ternary elongation complex

The human ELL gene on chromosome 19p13.1 undergoes frequent translocations with the trithorax-like MLL gene on chromosome 11q23 in acute myeloid leukemia. Recently, the human ELL gene was shown to encode an RNA polymerase II elongation factor that activates elongation by suppressing transient pausing by polymerase at many sites along the DNA. In this report, we identify and characterize two overlapping ELL functional domains that govern its interaction with RNA polymerase II and the ternary elongation complex. Our findings reveal that, in addition to its elongation activation domain, ELL contains a novel type of RNA polymerase II interaction domain that is capable of negatively regulating polymerase activity in promoter-specific transcription initiation in vitro. Notably, the MLL-ELL translocation results in deletion of a portion of this functional domain, and ELL mutants lacking sequences deleted by the translocation bind RNA polymerase II and are fully active in elongation, but fail to inhibit initiation. Taken together, these results raise the possibility that the MLL-ELL translocation could alter ELL-RNA polymerase II interactions that are not involved in regulation of elongation.