TAF8 regions important for TFIID lobe B assembly or for TAF2 interactions are required for embryonic stem cell survival

The human general transcription factor TFIID is composed of the TATA-binding protein (TBP) and 13 TBP-associated factors (TAFs). In eukaryotic cells, TFIID is thought to nucleate RNA polymerase II (Pol II) preinitiation complex formation on all protein coding gene promoters and thus, be crucial for Pol II transcription. TFIID is composed of three lobes, named A, B, and C. A 5TAF core complex can be assembled in vitro constituting a building block for the further assembly of either lobe A or B in TFIID. Structural studies showed that TAF8 forms a histone fold pair with TAF10 in lobe B and participates in connecting lobe B to lobe C. To better understand the role of TAF8 in TFIID, we have investigated the requirement of the different regions of TAF8 for the in vitro assembly of lobe B and C and the importance of certain TAF8 regions for mouse embryonic stem cell (ESC) viability. We have identified a region of TAF8 distinct from the histone fold domain important for assembling with the 5TAF core complex in lobe B. We also delineated four more regions of TAF8 each individually required for interacting with TAF2 in lobe C. Moreover, CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing indicated that the 5TAF core-interacting TAF8 domain and the proline-rich domain of TAF8 that interacts with TAF2 are both required for mouse embryonic stem cell survival. Thus, our study defines distinct TAF8 regions involved in connecting TFIID lobe B to lobe C that appear crucial for TFIID function and consequent ESC survival

Substrate specificity of the cdk-activating kinase (CAK) is altered upon association with TFIIH.

The transcription/DNA repair factor TFIIH consists of nine subunits, several exhibiting known functions: helicase/ATPase, kinase activity and DNA binding. Three subunits of TFIIH, cdk7, cyclin H and MAT1, form a ternary complex, cdk-activating kinase (CAK), found either on its own or as part of TFIIH. In the present work, we demonstrate that purified human CAK complex (free CAK) and recombinant CAK (rCAK) produced in insect cells exhibit a strong preference for the cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (cdk2) over a ctd oligopeptide substrate (which mimics the carboxy-terminal domain of the RNA polymerase II). In contrast, TFIIH preferentially phosphorylates the ctd as well as TFIIE alpha, but not cdk2. TFIIH was resolved into four subcomplexes: the kinase complex composed of cdk7, cyclin H and MAT1; the core TFIIH which contains XPB, p62, p52, p44 and p34; and two other subcomplexes in which XPD is found associated with either the kinase complex or with the core TFIIH. Using these fractions, we demonstrate that TFIIH lacking the CAK subcomplex completely recovers its transcriptional activity in the presence of free CAK. Furthermore, studies examining the interactions between TFIIH subunits provide evidence that CAK is integrated within TFIIH via XPB and XPD