Chromatin reorganization is essential for transcriptional control by sequence-specific transcription factors. However, the molecular link between transcriptional control and chromatin reconfiguration remains unclear. By colocalization of the nuclear ecdysone receptor (EcR) on the ecdysone-induced puff in the salivary gland, Drosophila DEK (dDEK) was genetically identified as a coactivator of EcR in both insect cells and intact flies. Biochemical purification and characterization of the complexes containing fly and human DEKs revealed that DEKs serve as histone chaperones via phosphorylation by forming complexes with casein kinase 2. Consistent with the preferential association of the DEK complex with histones enriched in active epigenetic marks, dDEK facilitated H3.3 assembly during puff formation. In some human myeloid leukemia patients, DEK was fused to CAN by chromosomal translocation. This mutation significantly reduced formation of the DEK complex, which is required for histone chaperone activity. Thus, the present study suggests that at least one histone chaperone can be categorized as a type of transcriptional coactivator for nuclear receptors.[Keywords: DEK; acute myeloid leukemia; histone chaperone; ecdysone receptor; coactivator; histone variant H3.3] Supplemental material is available at http://www.genesdev.org.

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Spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by a polyglutamine repeat (polyQ) expansion within the human androgen receptor (AR). Unlike other neurodegenerative diseases caused by abnormal polyQ expansion, the onset of SBMA depends on androgen binding to mutant human polyQ-AR proteins. This is also observed in Drosophila eyes ectopically expressing the polyQ-AR mutants. We have genetically screened mediators of androgen-induced neurodegeneration caused by polyQ-AR mutants in Drosophila eyes. We identified Rbf (Retinoblastoma-family protein), the Drosophila homologue of human Rb (Retinoblastoma protein), as a neuroprotective factor. Androgen-dependent association of Rbf or Rb with AR was remarkably potentiated by aberrant polyQ expansion. Such potentiated Rb association appeared to attenuate recruitment of histone deacetyltransferase 1 (HDAC1), a corepressor of E2F function. Either overexpression of Rbf or E2F deficiency in fly eyes reduced the neurotoxicity of the polyQ-AR mutants. Induction of E2F function by polyQ-AR-bound androgen was suppressed by Rb in human neuroblastoma cells. We conclude that abnormal expansion of polyQ may potentiate innate androgen-dependent association of AR with Rb. This appears to lead to androgen-dependent onset of SBMA through aberrant E2F transactivation caused by suppressed histone deacetylation.

Cell cycle-dependent expression of canonical histone proteins enables newly synthesized DNA to be integrated into chromatin in replicating cells. However, the molecular basis of cell cycle-dependency in the switching of histone gene regulation remains to be uncovered. Here, we report the identification and biochemical characterization of a molecular switcher, HERS (histone gene-specific epigenetic repressor in late S phase), for nucleosomal core histone gene inactivation in Drosophila. HERS protein is phosphorylated by a cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) at the end of S-phase. Phosphorylated HERS binds to histone gene regulatory regions and anchors HP1 and Su(var)3-9 to induce chromatin inactivation through histone H3 lysine 9 methylation. These findings illustrate a salient molecular switch linking epigenetic gene silencing to cell cycle-dependent histone production.