Structural basis of lysine-acetylated HIV-1 Tat recognition by PCAF bromodomain

Shiraz Mujtaba1, Yan He, Lei Zeng

  • 1Structural Biology Program, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York University, New York, NY 10029, USA.

Molecular Cell
|April 5, 2002
PubMed

The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) trans-activator protein Tat stimulates transcription of the integrated HIV-1 genome and promotes viral replication in infected cells. Tat transactivation activity is dependent on lysine acetylation and its association with nuclear histone acetyltransferases p300/CBP (CREB binding protein) and p300/CBP-associated factor (PCAF). Here, we show that the bromodomain of PCAF binds specifically to HIV-1 Tat acetylated at lysine 50 and that this interaction competes effectively against HIV-1 TAR RNA binding to the lysine-acetylated Tat. The three-dimensional solution structure of the PCAF bromodomain in complex with a lysine 50-acetylated Tat peptide together with biochemical analyses provides the structural basis for the specificity of this molecular recognition and reveals insights into the differences in ligand selectivity of bromodomains.

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