The cyclinT1/Cdk9 heterodimer that constitutes core P-TEFb is generally presumed to be the transcriptionally active form for stimulating RNA polymerase II elongation. About half of cellular P-TEFb also exists in an inactive complex with the 7SK snRNA and the HEXIM1 protein. Here, we show that the remaining half associates with the bromodomain protein Brd4. In stress-induced cells, the 7SK/HEXIM1-bound P-TEFb is quantitatively converted into the Brd4-associated form. The association with Brd4 is necessary to form the transcriptionally active P-TEFb, recruits P-TEFb to a promoter, and enables P-TEFb to contact the Mediator complex, a potential target for the Brd4-mediated recruitment. Although generally required for transcription, the P-TEFb-recruitment function of Brd4 can be substituted by that of HIV-1 Tat, which recruits P-TEFb directly for activated HIV-1 transcription. Brd4, HEXIM1, and 7SK are all implicated in regulating cell growth, which may result from their dynamic control of the general transcription factor P-TEFb.

SUMMARY Recruitment of the P-TEFb kinase by HIV-1 Tat to the viral promoter triggers the phosphorylation and escape of RNA polymerase II from promoter-proximal pausing. It is unclear, however, if Tat recruits additional host factors that further stimulate HIV-1 transcription. Using a sequential affinity-purification scheme, we have identified human transcription factors/coactivators AFF4, ENL, AF9, and elongation factor ELL2 as components of the Tat-P-TEFb complex. Through the bridging functions of Tat and AFF4, P-TEFb and ELL2 combine to form a bifunctional elongation complex that greatly activates HIV-1 transcription. Without Tat, AFF4 can mediate the ELL2-P-TEFb interaction, albeit inefficiently. Tat overcomes this limitation by bringing more ELL2 to P-TEFb and stabilizing ELL2 in a process that requires active P-TEFb. The ability of Tat to enable two different classes of elongation factors to cooperate and coordinate their actions on the same polymerase enzyme explains why Tat is such a powerful activator of HIV-1 transcription.

Brd4, a bromodomain protein capable of interacting with acetylated histones, is implicated in transmitting epigenetic memory through mitosis. It also functions as an associated factor and positive regulator of P-TEFb, a Cdk9-cyclin T1 heterodimer that stimulates transcriptional elongation by phosphorylating RNA polymerase II. In the present study, experiments were performed to determine whether these two functions of Brd4 are interrelated and, if so, how they may impact cell cycle progression. Our data demonstrate that while the P-TEFb level remains constant, the Brd4-P-TEFb interaction increases dramatically in cells progressing from late mitosis to early G 1 . Concurrently, P-TEFb is recruited to chromosomes, beginning around mid-to late anaphase and before nuclear envelope/lamina formation and nuclear import of other general transcription factors. Importantly, the recruitment of P-TEFb depends on Brd4. Abrogation of this process through Brd4 knockdown reduces the binding of P-TEFb to and expression of key G 1 and growth-associated genes, leading to G 1 cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Because P-TEFb is synonymous with productive elongation, its recruitment by Brd4 to chromosomes at late mitosis may indicate those genes whose active transcription status must be preserved across cell division.Eukaryotic transcription elongation is a highly regulated process important for not only the production of full-length RNA transcripts but also the coupling of transcription with other major gene expression events. The positive transcriptional elongation factor b (P-TEFb) plays a central role in this process. Consisting predominantly of a Cdk9-cyclin T1(CycT1) heterodimer, P-TEFb stimulates elongation by phosphorylating the carboxy-terminal domain of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) as well as negative elongation factors. These events allow Pol II to escape from promoter-proximal pausing and engage in productive elongation (16,26).Nuclear P-TEFb is maintained in a functional equilibrium through alternately interacting with its positive and negative regulators (26). Diverse signals, including those that impact cell growth and differentiation, can affect this equilibrium by altering the ratio of the negative and positive factors associated with P-TEFb (8, 26). These observations raise an intriguing possibility that the functional P-TEFb equilibrium is tightly linked to the cellular transcriptional demand and the global control of cell growth and differentiation (8,26).Whereas the associations with the HEXIM1 protein and 7SK snRNA sequester P-TEFb in an inactive complex, it is the interaction with the bromodomain protein Brd4 that forms the transcriptionally active P-TEFb (10, 24). Brd4 recruits P-TEFb to a promoter by contacting acetylated chromatin and the Mediator complex, and this process is essential for elongation (10,24). While the Brd4-P-TEFb complex stimulates transcription in general, it is worth noting that Brd4 can also be found in a separate complex assembled by the human papillomaviruses E2 to silence the expression o...

The general transcription factor P-TEFb stimulates RNA polymerase II elongation and cotranscriptional processing of pre-mRNA. Contributing to a functional equilibrium important for growth control, a reservoir of P-TEFb is maintained in an inactive snRNP where 7SK snRNA is a central scaffold. Here, we identify PIP7S as a La-related protein stably associated with and required for 7SK snRNP integrity. PIP7S binds and stabilizes nearly all the nuclear 7SK via 3' -UUU-OH, leading to the sequestration and inactivation of P-TEFb. This function requires its La domain and intact C terminus. The latter is frequently deleted in human tumors due to microsatellite instability-associated mutations. Consistent with the tumor suppressor role of a Drosophila homolog of PIP7S, loss of PIP7S function shifts the P-TEFb equilibrium toward the active state, disrupts epithelial differentiation, and causes P-TEFb-dependent malignant transformation. Through PIP7S modulation of P-TEFb, our data thus link a general elongation factor to growth control and tumorigenesis.

The positive transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb), consisting of Cdk9 and cyclin T, stimulates RNA polymerase II elongation and cotranscriptional pre-mRNA processing. To accommodate different growth conditions and transcriptional demands, a reservoir of P-TEFb is kept in an inactive state in the multisubunit 7SK snRNP. Under certain stress or disease conditions, P-TEFb is released to activate transcription, although the signaling pathway(s) that controls this is largely unknown. Here, through analyzing the UV-or hexamethylene bisacetamide (HMBA)-induced release of P-TEFb from 7SK snRNP, an essential role for the calcium ion (Ca 2+ )-calmodulin-protein phosphatase 2B (PP2B) signaling pathway is revealed. However, Ca 2+ signaling alone is insufficient, and PP2B must act sequentially and cooperatively with protein phosphatase 1␣ (PP1␣) to disrupt 7SK snRNP. Activated by UV/HMBA and facilitated by a PP2B-induced conformational change in 7SK snRNP, PP1␣ releases P-TEFb through dephosphorylating phospho-Thr186 in the Cdk9 T-loop. This event is also necessary for the subsequent recruitment of P-TEFb by the bromodomain protein Brd4 to the preinitiation complex, where Cdk9 remains unphosphorylated and inactive until after the synthesis of a short RNA. Thus, through cooperatively dephosphorylating Cdk9 in response to Ca 2+ signaling, PP2B and PP1␣ alter the P-TEFb functional equilibrium through releasing P-TEFb from 7SK snRNP for transcription.[Keywords: P-TEFb; CDK activation; transcriptional elongation; Ca 2+ signal transduction; protein phosphatases] Supplemental material is available at http://www.genesdev.org. Received November 21, 2007; revised version accepted March 31, 2008. In eukaryotes, the transcription of protein-coding genes is performed by RNA polymerase (Pol) II in a cyclic process consisting of several tightly regulated stages (Sims et al. 2004). During the elongation stage, the C-terminal domain of the largest subunit of Pol II is phosphorylated by the positive transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb) (Peterlin and Price 2006;Zhou and Yik 2006). This modification is crucial for Pol II to change from abortive to productive elongation and produce full-length RNA transcripts. Consisting of Cdk9 and cyclin T1 (or the minor forms T2 and K), P-TEFb is considered a general transcription factor required for the expression of a vast array of protein-coding genes (Chao and Price 2001;Shim et al. 2002). Not only is P-TEFb critical for cellular gene transcription, it is also a specific host cofactor for the HIV-1 Tat protein. Tat recruits P-TEFb to the TAR RNA element located at the 5Ј end of nascent viral transcripts, allowing P-TEFb to phosphorylate stalled Pol II and enhance HIV-1 elongation (Peterlin and Price 2006).However, not every P-TEFb in the nucleus is in a transcriptionally active state. A major reservoir of P-TEFb (∼50% of total P-TEFb in HeLa cells) actually exists in an inactive complex termed 7SK snRNP that also contains the 7SK snRNA (Nguyen et al. 2001;Yang et al. 2001) and three nuclear...