Trimethylation of histone H3 at lysine 4 (H3K4me3) is regarded as a hallmark of active human promoters, but it remains unclear how this posttranslational modification links to transcriptional activation. Using a stable isotope labeling by amino acids in cell culture (SILAC)-based proteomic screening we show that the basal transcription factor TFIID directly binds to the H3K4me3 mark via the plant homeodomain (PHD) finger of TAF3. Selective loss of H3K4me3 reduces transcription from and TFIID binding to a subset of promoters in vivo. Equilibrium binding assays and competition experiments show that the TAF3 PHD finger is highly selective for H3K4me3. In transient assays, TAF3 can act as a transcriptional coactivator in a PHD finger-dependent manner. Interestingly, asymmetric dimethylation of H3R2 selectively inhibits TFIID binding to H3K4me3, whereas acetylation of H3K9 and H3K14 potentiates TFIID interaction. Our experiments reveal crosstalk between histone modifications and the transcription factor TFIID. This has important implications for regulation of RNA polymerase II-mediated transcription in higher eukaryotes.

Acetylation of histones and non-histone proteins is an important post-translational modification involved in the regulation of gene expression in eukaryotes and all viral DNA that integrates into the human genome (e.g. the human immunodeficiency virus). Dysfunction of histone acetyltransferases (HATs) is often associated with the manifestation of several diseases. In this respect, HATs are the new potential targets for the design of therapeutics. In this study, we report that curcumin (diferuloylmethane), a major curcumanoid in the spice turmeric, is a specific inhibitor of the p300/CREB-binding protein (CBP) HAT activity but not of p300/CBPassociated factor, in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, curcumin could also inhibit the p300-mediated acetylation of p53 in vivo. It specifically represses the p300/CBP HAT activity-dependent transcriptional activation from chromatin but not a DNA template. It is significant that curcumin could inhibit the acetylation of HIV-Tat protein in vitro by p300 as well as proliferation of the virus, as revealed by the repression in syncytia formation upon curcumin treatment in SupT1 cells. Thus, nontoxic curcumin, which targets p300/CBP, may serve as a lead compound in combinatorial HIV therapeutics.

Histone acetylation is a diagnostic feature of transcriptionally active genes. The proper recruitment and function of histone acetyltransferases (HATs) and deacetylases (HDACs) are key regulatory steps for gene expression and cell cycle. Functional defects of either of these enzymes may lead to several diseases, including cancer. HATs and HDACs thus are potential therapeutic targets. Here we report that garcinol, a polyisoprenylated benzophenone derivative from Garcinia indica fruit rind, is a potent inhibitor of histone acetyltransferases p300 (IC 50 Ϸ7 M) and PCAF (IC 50 Ϸ5 M) both in vitro and in vivo. The kinetic analysis shows that it is a mixed type of inhibitor with an increased affinity for PCAF compared with p300. HAT activity-dependent chromatin transcription was strongly inhibited by garcinol, whereas transcription from DNA template was not affected. Furthermore, it was found to be a potent inducer of apoptosis, and it alters (predominantly downregulates) the global gene expression in HeLa cells.

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Histone methylation patterns are correlated with eukaryotic gene transcription. High-affinity binding of the plant homeodomain (PHD) of TFIID subunit TAF3 to trimethylated lysine-4 of histone H3 (H3K4me3) is involved in promoter recruitment of this basal transcription factor. Here, we show that for transcription activation the PHD of TAF3 can be replaced by PHDs of other high-affinity H3K4me3 binders. Interestingly, H3K4me3 binding of TFIID and the TAF3-PHD is decreased by phosphorylation of the adjacent threonine residue (H3T3), which coincides with mitotic inhibition of transcription. Ectopic expression of the H3T3 kinase haspin repressed TAF3-mediated transcription of endogenous and of reporter genes and decreased TFIID association with chromatin. Conversely, immunofluorescence and live-cell microscopy studies showed an increased association of TFIID with mitotic chromosomes upon haspin knockdown. Based on our observations, we propose that a histone H3 phosphomethyl switch regulates TFIID-mediated transcription during mitotic progression of the cell cycle.