Ca2+-dependent block of CREB-CBP transcription by repressor DREAM

The calcium-binding protein DREAM binds specifically to DRE sites in the DNA and represses transcription of target genes. Derepression at DRE sites following PKA activation depends on a specific interaction between alphaCREM and DREAM. Two leucine-charged residue-rich domains (LCD) located in the kinase-inducible domain (KID) and in the leucine zipper of alphaCREM and two LCDs in DREAM participate in a two-site interaction that results in the loss of DREAM binding to DRE sites and derepression. Since the LCD motif located within the KID in CREM is also present in CREB, and maps in a region critical for the recruitment of CBP, we investigated whether DREAM may affect CRE-dependent transcription. Here we show that in the absence of Ca2+ DREAM binds to the LCD in the KID of CREB. As a result, DREAM impairs recruitment of CBP by phospho CREB and blocks CBP-mediated transactivation at CRE sites in a Ca2+-dependent manner. Thus, Ca2+-dependent interactions between DREAM and CREB represent a novel point of cross-talk between cAMP and Ca2+ signalling pathways in the nucleus.