The transition of RNA polymerase II from initiation to elongation is associated with phosphorylation of the carboxyl-terminal domain of subunit IIa

作者：John Payne, Paul J. Laybourn, Michael E. Dahmus · 发表于：Journal of Biological Chemistry · 年份：1989 · DOI：10.1016/s0021-9258(19)47159-7 · 被引用次数：240 · 研究领域：Virus-based gene therapy research、RNA Research and Splicing、Viral Infectious Diseases and Gene Expression in Insects

Mammalian cells contain two forms of RNA polymerase II, designated IIO and IIA, that differ in the extent of phosphorylation within the C-terminal domain of their largest subunit. Phosphorylation of this domain, which results in the conversion of RNA polymerase IIA to IIO, may play an important role in the transition from the initiation to the elongation phase of transcription. A third form of the enzyme, RNA polymerase IIB, is found in vitro and lacks the repetitive C-terminal domain. Purified calf thymus RNA polymerase IIA was labeled selectively with casein kinase II in the presence of [gamma-32P]ATP and used as substrate for the identification and partial purification of factors that catalyze the conversion of RNA polymerase IIA to IIO. HeLa cell S-100 transcription extracts contain such an activity that cofractionates with factors essential for promoter-dependent transcription through heparin-Sepharose, DEAE-5PW, and DE52 chromatography. The activity is dependent on either ATP, GTP, or dATP, requires a hydrolyzable beta,gamma-phosphoanhydride bond, and cannot utilize pyrimidine nucleoside triphosphates. This observation supports the idea that the conversion activity is a protein kinase. Transcription of the major late promoter of adenovirus-2 was carried out in the presence of a reconstituted transcription extract containing purified RNA polymerases IIO, IIA, or IIB, and the nature of the elongating enzyme was determined by photoaffinity labeling. When the reaction was i...