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The acetylation state of histones can influence transcription. Acetylation, carried out by acetyltransferases such as CBP/p300 and P/CAF, is commonly associated with transcriptional stimulation, whereas deacetylation, mediated by the three known human deacetylases HDAC1, 2 and 3, causes transcriptional repression. The known human deacetylases represent a single family and are homologues of the yeast RPD3 deacetylase. Here we identify and characterize HDAC4, a representative of a new human histone deacetylase family, which is homologous to the yeast HDA1 deacetylase. We show that HDAC4, unlike other deacetylases, shuttles between the nucleus and the cytoplasm in a process involving active nuclear export. In the nucleus, HDAC4 associates with the myocyte enhancer factor MEF2A. Binding of HDAC4 to MEF2A results in the repression of MEF2A transcriptional activation, a function that requires the deacetylase domain of HDAC4. These results identify MEF2A as a nuclear target for HDAC4-mediated repression and suggests that compartmentalization may be a novel mechanism for controlling the nuclear activity of this new family of deacetylases.

The MEF-2 proteins are a family of transcriptional activators that have been detected in a wide variety of cell types. In skeletal muscle cells, MEF-2 proteins interact with members of the MyoD family of transcriptional activators to synergistically activate gene expression. Similar interactions with tissue or lineage-specific cofactors may also underlie MEF-2 function in other cell types. In order to screen for such cofactors, we have used a transcriptionally inactive mutant of Xenopus MEF2D in a yeast two-hybrid screen. This approach has identified a novel protein expressed in the early embryo that binds to XMEF2D and XMEF2A. The MEF-2 interacting transcription repressor (MITR) protein binds to the N-terminal MADS/MEF-2 region of the MEF-2 proteins but does not bind to the related Xenopus MADS protein serum response factor. In the early embryo, MITR expression commences at the neurula stage within the mature somites and is subsequently restricted to the myotomal muscle. In functional assays, MITR negatively regulates MEF-2-dependent transcription and we show that this repression is mediated by direct binding of MITR to the histone deacetylase HDAC1. Thus, we propose that MITR acts as a co-repressor, recruiting a specific deacetylase to downregulate MEF-2 activity.

E7 is the main transforming protein of human papilloma virus type 16 (HPV16) which is implicated in the formation of cervical cancer. The transforming activity of E7 has been attributed to its interaction with the retinoblastoma (Rb) tumour suppressor. However, Rb binding is not sufficient for transformation by E7. Mutations within a zinc finger domain, which is dispensable for Rb binding, also abolish E7 transformation functions. Here we show that HPV16 E7 associates with histone deacetylase in vitro and in vivo, via its zinc finger domain. Using a genetic screen, we identify Mi2beta, a component of the recently identified NURD histone deacetylase complex, as a protein that binds directly to the E7 zinc finger. A zinc finger point mutant which is unable to bind Mi2beta and histone deacetylase but is still able to bind Rb fails to overcome cell cycle arrest in osteosarcoma cells. Our results suggest that the binding to a histone deacetylase complex is an important parameter for the growthpromoting activity of the human papilloma virus E7 protein. This provides the first indication that viral oncoproteins control cell proliferation by targeting deacetylation pathways.