Phosphorylation of cellular proteins regulates their binding to the cAMP response element

We have studied the protein factors that promote transcription via binding to the cAMP response element (CRE) present in the adenovirus early region III (EIII) and early region IV (EIV) promoters. Three sets of CRE-binding phosphoproteins, ranging in molecular mass from 65-72, 38-43, and 31-37 kDa, were identified in vivo from HeLa cells. Western blot analysis revealed that all three sets of proteins identified were immunologically related to the transcription factor AP1. We found that binding of these proteins to the CRE could be regulated by phosphorylation in vitro. EivF, a 65-72-kDa protein was found to bind specifically to the adenovirus EIV promoter. We have also shown that the smaller molecular mass proteins of 31-37 and 38-43 kDa were able to bind to the CRE present in the adenovirus EIV promoter, as well as to two related DNA elements present in the adenovirus EIII promoter, the ATF and AP1 sites. Phosphorylation of these proteins with the cAMP-dependent protein kinase, affected their transcriptional activity and binding affinity to the three sites. Furthermore, the binding specificity of the 31-37-kDa polypeptides was mediated by cAMP-dependent protein kinase in vitro. Our data suggests that phosphorylation of factors that bind to the CRE may, in part, underlie the cellular response to the adenovirus-encoded Ela protein.