A PTIP–PA1 subcomplex promotes transcription for IgH class switching independently from the associated MLL3/MLL4 methyltransferase complex

  1. Jeremy A. Daniel1
  1. 1Chromatin Structure and Function Group, The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2200, Denmark;
  2. 2Proteomics and Cell Signaling Group, The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2200, Denmark;
  3. 3Laboratory of Genome Integrity, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA;
  4. 4Adipocyte Biology and Gene Regulation Section, Laboratory of Endocrinology and Receptor Biology, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA;
  5. 5Protein Production and Characterization Platform, The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2200, Denmark;
  6. 6Department of Physics, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA;
  7. 7Developmental Immunology Group, Division of Molecular Hematology, Lund Stem Cell Center, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Lund 22184, Sweden;
  8. 8Macromolecular Crystallography Group, The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2200, Denmark
  1. Corresponding author: jeremy.daniel{at}cpr.ku.dk
  1. 9 These authors contributed equally to this work.

Abstract

Class switch recombination (CSR) diversifies antibodies for productive immune responses while maintaining stability of the B-cell genome. Transcription at the immunoglobulin heavy chain (Igh) locus targets CSR-associated DNA damage and is promoted by the BRCT domain-containing PTIP (Pax transactivation domain-interacting protein). Although PTIP is a unique component of the mixed-lineage leukemia 3 (MLL3)/MLL4 chromatin-modifying complex, the mechanisms for how PTIP promotes transcription remain unclear. Here we dissected the minimal structural requirements of PTIP and its different protein complexes using quantitative proteomics in primary lymphocytes. We found that PTIP functions in transcription and CSR separately from its association with the MLL3/MLL4 complex and from its localization to sites of DNA damage. We identified a tandem BRCT domain of PTIP that is sufficient for CSR and identified PA1 as its main functional protein partner. Collectively, we provide genetic and biochemical evidence that a PTIP–PA1 subcomplex functions independently from the MLL3/MLL4 complex to mediate transcription during CSR. These results further our understanding of how multifunctional chromatin-modifying complexes are organized by subcomplexes that harbor unique and distinct activities.

Keywords

Footnotes

  • Received July 15, 2015.
  • Accepted December 4, 2015.

This article is distributed exclusively by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press for the first six months after the full-issue publication date (see http://genesdev.cshlp.org/site/misc/terms.xhtml). After six months, it is available under a Creative Commons License (Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International), as described at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

| Table of Contents

Life Science Alliance