The adenovirus E1A-associated 300 kDa adaptor protein counteracts the inhibition of the collagenase promoter by E1A and represses transformation.

Adenovirus E1A proteins modulate the expression of a large variety of genes in transformed cells by either stimulating or repressing their promoters. For example, the E1A proteins inhibit the collagenase promoter, whereas they activate the c-jun promoter. Both effects are mediated through AP-1/ATF-binding sites. Repression of transcription of the collagenase gene requires the amino-terminus and conserved region 1 (CR1) of Ad5 E1A, two regions that are also crucial for interaction of E1A with the recently isolated transcriptional adaptor protein p300. We show here that overexpressed p300 can counteract the repressive effect of E1A on the collagenase promoter. Using the CREB-binding protein (CBP), which is highly homologous to p300, the same results were obtained. The domains in E1A required for binding to p300 are also essential for E1A-mediated cell transformation. We therefore tested the effect of p300 and CBP on the transforming potential of Ad5 E1 in baby rat kidney (BRK) cells. It was found that E1A-induced focus formation was strongly inhibited by overexpression of p300 or CBP. Moreover the BRK cell colonies, obtained after cotransfection with Ad5E1 and p300, could not be established. These results indicate that one of the mechanisms by which E1A modulates transcription and transforms cells is via transcriptional adaptors like p300 and CBP.