The NCoR Co-repressor Interacts with the Kaiso Transcription Factor through a Mechanism Different from That of BCL6 Interaction.

The vertebrate transcription factor Kaiso binds specifically to methylated DNA sequences using C2H2-type zinc fingers. In addition to C2H2-domains, the BTB/POZ domain, which forms homodimers, is located at the N-terminus of Kaiso. Kaiso, like several other well-studied BTB/POZ proteins, including BCL6, interacts with the NCoR (nuclear co-repressor) protein, which determines the landing of transcriptional repressive complexes on chromatin. Using the yeast two-hybrid system, we have shown that the N-terminal domain of NCoR interacts with the C-terminal zinc fingers of Kaiso, and not with its BTB/POZ domain, as previously assumed. The results obtained demonstrate that NCoR interacts with various transcription factor domains, which can increase the efficiency of attracting NCoR-dependent repressor complexes to regulatory regions of the genome.