Cyclic AMP response element-binding protein, CRE-BP1, mediates the E1A-induced but not the Tax-induced trans-activation.

The adenovirus E1A protein and tax protein (Tax) of human T-cell leukemia virus-1 (HTLV-1) are transcriptional regulators that do not bind to DNA directly. The ATF sites/CRE (cyclic AMP response element) of the adenovirus E4 promoter and the long terminal repeat of HTLV-1 have been shown to be required for E1A and Tax inducibility, respectively. Using the c-Myb-CRE-BP1 fusion protein, it was shown that CRE-BP1, which could bind to the ATF sites/CRE, mediated the E1A-induced trans-activation. For this activation, the N-terminal portion of CRE-BP1, which contained the putative metal finger structure, was essential but not sufficient. In contrast, the trans-activation induced by HTLV-1 Tax was not mediated by CRE-BP1. These results strongly suggested that E1A activates transcription through interaction with CRE-BP1, but another CRE-binding protein participates in the Tax-induced trans-activation.