Jun and v-jun contain multiple regions that participate in transcriptional activation in an interdependent manner

Transcription factor AP1 is a heteromeric complex composed of the Jun and Fos proteins. It has been shown that by associating with Jun, Fos increases Jun's ability to bind DNA and activate transcription. To determine the roles of the two proteins, we undertook the functional analysis described here. We show that both the cellular Jun and its viral counterpart, v-Jun, are efficient transcriptional activators even in the absence of Fos. The Jun proteins contain at least three separate regions responsible for transcriptional activation in F9 cells, which act in an additive manner. All of these regions contain several acidic amino acid residues that appear to be functionally important and interact with a titratable target. Although trans-activation by Fos was previously shown to be dependent on the presence of Jun, by fusing Fos to a heterologous DNA-binding domain we show that once given the ability to bind DNA on its own, Fos is also an independent trans-activator. Both Jun and Fos contribute to trans-activation by the AP1 complex, and the augmentation of Jun activity by Fos is probably due to the increased DNA-binding activity of the Jun:Fos heterodimer.