Abstract
The mechanisms underlying activation and DNA binding of the transcription factor NF-κB are central to our understanding of the cellular response to stress, development and apoptosis, among other key physiological processes (Baeuerle & Henkel, 1994; Siebenlist et al., 1994; Baeuerle & Baltimore, 1996; Baldwin, 1996; Ghosh et al., 1998; Gilmore, 1999; Silverman & Maniatis, 2001). Central to gene regulation by NF-κB is its release from inhibition by IκB and subsequent recognition of specific promoters of inducible genes. Three-dimensional structures of NF-κB proteins in complex with κB DNA or IκB inhibitors have provided new insights into the complexities of the NF-κB-signaling pathways and NF-κB-mediated gene regulation. In this review, we shall focus on the structural features of NF-κB/DNA and IκB/NF-κB complexes, as well as on the relation of these structures to biological function.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Baeuerle PA & Baltimore D (1988) IκB: a specific inhibitor of the NF-κB transcription factor. Science 242: 540–546.
Baeuerle PA & Baltimore D (1996) NF-κB: ten years after. Cell 87: 13–20.
Baeuerle PA & Henkel T (1994) Function and activation of NF-κB in the immune system. Annu. Rev. Immunol. 12: 141–179.
Baldwin AS (1996) The NF-κB and IκB proteins: new discoveries and insights. Annu. Rev. Immunol. 14: 649–683.
Barroga CF, Stevenson JK, Schwarz EM & Verma IM (1995) Constitutive phosphorylation of IκBα by casein kinase II. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92: 7637–7641.
Becker S, Groner B & Müller CW (1998) Three-dimensional structure of the Stat3β homodimer bound to DNA. Nature 394: 145–151.
Bork P (1993) Hundreds of ankyrin-like repeats in functionally diverse proteins: mobile modules that cross phyla horizontally? Proteins 17: 363–374.
Bours V, Franzoso G, Azarenko V, Park S, Kanno T, Brown K & Siebenlist U (1993) The oncoprotein Bcl-3 directly transactivates through κB motifs via association with DNA-binding p50B homodimers. Cell 72: 729–739.
Bundy DL & McKeithan TW (1997) Diverse effects of Bcl-3 phosphorylation on its modulation of NF-κB p52 homodimer binding to DNA. J. Biol. Chem. 272: 33132–33139.
Chen FE, Huang D-B, Chen Y-Q & Ghosh G (1998a) Crystal structure of p50/p65 heterodimer of transcription factor NF-κB bound to DNA. Nature 391: 410–413.
Chen X, Vinkemeier U, Hao Y, Jeruzalmi D, Darnell JE & Kuriyan J (1998b) Crystal structure of a tyrosine phosphorylated Stat-1 dimer bound to DNA. Cell 93: 827–839.
Chen Y-Q, Ghosh S & Ghosh G (1998c) A novel DNA recognition mode by the NF-κB p65 homodimer. Nature Struct. Biol. 5: 67–73.
Chen Y-Q, Sengchanthalangsy LL, Hackett A & Ghosh G (2000) NF-κB p65 (RelA) homodimer uses distinct mechanisms to recognize DNA targets. Structure 8: 419–428.
Cramer P, Larson CJ, Verdine GL & Müller CW (1997) Structure of the human NF-κB p52 homodimer-DNA complex at 2.1 Å resolution. EMBO J. 16: 7078–7090.
Cramer P, Varrot A, Barillas-Mury C, Kafatos FC & Müller CW (1999) Structure of the specificity domain of the Dorsal homologue Gambifl bound to DNA. Structure 7: 841–852.
Cross SL, Halden NF, Lenardo MJ & Leonard WJ (1989) Functionally distinct NF-κB binding sites in the immunoglobulin κ and IL-2 receptor α chain genes. Science 244: 466–469.
Darnell JE (1997) Stats and gene regulation. Science 277: 1630–1635.
Davis M, Hatzubai A, Andersen JS, Ben-Shushan E, Fisher GZ, Yaron A, Bauskin A, Mercurio F, Mann M & Ben-Neriah Y (2002) Pseudosubstrate regulation of the SCF/β-TrCP ubiquitin ligase by hnRNP-u. Genes Dev. 16: 439–451.
Dobrzanski P, Ryseck R-P & Bravo R (1993) Both N-and C-terminal domains of RelB are required for full transactivation: role of the N-terminal leucine zipper-like motif. Mol. Cell. Biol. 13: 1572–1582.
Ernst MK, Dunn LL & Rice NR (1995) The PEST-like sequence of IκBα is responsible for inhibition of DNA binding but not for cytoplasmic retention of c-Rel or RelA homodimers. Mol. Cell. Biol. 15: 872–882.
Escalante CR, Shen LY, Thanos D & Aggarwal AK (2002) Structure of NF-κB p65 (RelA) p50/p65 heterodimer bound to the PRDII DNA element from the interferon-β promoter. Structure 10: 383–391.
Franzoso G, Bours V, Park S, Tomita-Yamaguchi M, Kelly K & Siebenlist U (1992) The candidate oncoprotein Bcl-3 is an antagonist of p50/NF-κB-mediated inhibition. Nature 359: 339–342.
Fujita T, Nolan GP, Liou H-C, Scott ML & Baltimore D (1993) The candidate proto-oncogene Bcl-3 encodes a transcriptional coactivator that activates through NF-κB p50 homodimers. Genes Dev. 7: 1354–1363.
Ghosh G, Van Duyne G, Ghosh S & Sigler PB (1995) Structure of NF-κB p50 homodimer bound to a kB site. Nature 373: 303–310.
Ghosh S, May MJ & Kopp EB (1998) NF-κB and Rel proteins: evolutionarily conserved mediators of immune responses. Annu. Rev. Immunol. 16: 225–260.
Gilmore TD (1999) The Rel/NF-κB signal transduction pathway. Introduction. Oncogene 18: 6842–6844.
Groves MR & Barford D (1999) Topological characteristics of helical repeat proteins. Curr. Opin. Struct. Biol. 9: 383–389.
Hart DJ, Speight RE, Sutherland JD & Blackburn JM (2001) Analysis of the NF-κB p50 dimerinterface by diversity screening. J. Mol. Biol. 310: 563–575.
Hatada EN, Nieters A, Wulczyn FG, Naumann M, Meyer R, Nucifora G, McKeithan TW & Scheidereit C (1992) The ankyrin repeat domains of the NF-κB precursor p105 and the proto-oncogene Bcl-3 act as specific inhibitors of NF-κB DNA binding. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 89: 2489–2493.
Heissmeyer V, Krappmann D, Hatada EN & Scheidereit C (2001) Shared pathways of IκB kinase-induced SCF/βTrCP-mediated ubiquitination and degradation for the NF-κB precursor p105 and IκBα. Mol. Cell. Biol. 21: 1024–1035.
Huang D-B, Chen Y-Q, Ruetsche M, Phelps CB & Ghosh G (2001) X-ray crystal structure of proto-oncogene product c-Rel bound to the CD28 response element of IL-2. Structure 9: 669–678.
Huang D-B, Huxford T, Chen Y-Q & Ghosh G (1997) The role of DNA in the mechanism of NF-κB dimer formation: crystal structures of the dimerization domains of the p50 and p65 subunits. Structure 5: 1427–1436.
Huang TT, Kudo N, Yoshida M & Miyamoto S (2000) A nuclear export signal in the N-terminal regulatory domain of IκBα controls cytoplasmic localization of inactive NF-κB/IκBcα complexes. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 97: 1014–1019.
Huxford T, Huang D-B, Malek S & Ghosh G (1998) The crystal structure of the IκBκ/NF-κB complex reveals mechanisms of NF-κB inactivation. Cell 95: 759–770.
Inoue JI, Kerr LD, Kakizuka A & Verma IM (1992) IκBγ, a 70 kD protein identical to the C-terminal half of p110 NF-κB: a new member of the IκB family. Cell 68: 1109–1120.
Jacobs MD & Harrison SC (1998) Structure of an IκBκ/NF-κB complex. Cell 95: 749–758.
Jacobson EM, Li P, Leon-Del-Rio A, Rosenfeld MG & Aggarwal AK (1997) Structure of Pit-1 POU domain bound to DNA as a dimer: unexpected arrangement and flexibility. Genes Dev. 11: 198–212.
Johnson C, Van Antwerp D & Hope TJ (1999) An N-terminal nuclear export signal is required for the nucleocytoplasmic shuttling of IκBα. EMBO J. 18: 6682–6693.
Karin M & Ben-Neriah Y (2000) Phosphorylation meets ubiquitination: the control of NF-κB activity. Annu. Rev. Immunol. 18: 621–663.
Kitamura H, Kanehira K, Okita K, Morimatsu M & Saito M (2000) MAIL, a novel nuclear IκB protein that potentiates LPS-induced IL-6 production. FEBS Lett. 485: 53–56.
Kushner DB & Ricciardi RP (1999) Reduced phosphorylation of p50 is responsible for diminished NF-κB binding to the major histocompatibility complex class I enhancer in adenovirus type 12-transformed cells. Mol. Cell. Biol. 19: 2169–2179.
Lehming N, McGuire S, Brickman JM & Ptashne M (1995) Interactions of a Rel protein with its inhibitor. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92: 10242–10246.
Leonard WJ & O’Shea JJ (1998). Jaks and Stats: biological implications. Annu Rev. Immunol. 16: 293–322.
Liou HC, Nolan GP, Ghosh S, Fujita T & Baltimore D (1992) The NF-κB p50 precursor, p105, contains an internal IκB-like inhibitor that preferentially inhibits p50. EMBO J. 11: 3003–3009.
Liu J, Sodeoka M, Lane WS & Verdine GL (1994) Evidence for a non-a-helical DNA-binding motif in the Rel homology region. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 91: 908–912.
Malek S, Chen Y, Huxford T & Ghosh G (2001) IκBβ, but not IκBα, functions as a classical cytoplasmic inhibitor of NF-κB dimers by masking both NF-κB nuclear localization sequences in resting cells. J. Biol. Chem. 276: 45225–45235.
McElhinny JA, Trushin SA, Bren GD, Chester N & Paya CV (1996) Casein kinase II phosphorylates IκBα at S283, S289, S293, and T291 and is required for its degradation in vitro. Mol. Cell. Biol. 16: 899–906.
Mercurio F, Didonato JA, Rosette C & Karin M (1993) P105 and p98 precursor proteins play an active role in NF-KB-mediated signal transduction. Genes Dev. 7: 705–718.
Michaely P & Vennett V (1992) The ANK repeat: a ubiquitous motif involved in macromolecular recognition. Trends Cell. Biol. 2: 127–130.
Michel F, Soler-Lopez M, Petosa C, Cramer P, Siebenlist U & Müller CW (2001) Crystal structure of the ankyrin repeat domain of Bcl-3: a unique member of the kB protein family. EMBO J. 20: 6180–6190.
Müller CW, Rey FA, Sodeoka M, Verdine GL & Harrison SC (1995) Structure of the NF-κB p50 homodimer bound to DNA. Nature 373: 311–317.
Pahl HL (1999) Activators and target genes of Rel/NF-κB transcription factors. Oncogene 18: 6853–6866.
Phelps CB, Sengchanthalangsy LL, Malek S & Ghosh G (2000) Mechanism of κB DNA binding by Rel/NF-κB dimers. J. Biol. Chem. 275: 24392–24399.
Plaksin D, Baeuerle PA & Eisenbach L (1993) KBF1 (p50 NF-κB homodimer) acts as a repressor of H-2K-b gene expression in metastatic tumor cells. J. Exp. Med. 177: 1651–1662.
Rao A, Luo C & Hogan PG (1997) Transcription factors of the NF-AT family: regulation and function. Annu. Rev. Immunol. 15: 707–747.
Rice NR, Mackichan ML & Isräel A (1992) The precursor of NF-κB p50 has IκB-like functions. Cell 71: 243–253.
Rogers S, Wells R & Rechsteiner M (1986) Amino acid sequences common to rapidly degraded proteins: the PEST hypothesis. Science 234: 364–368.
Ryseck R-P, Novotny J & Bravo R (1995) Characterization of elements determining the dimerization properties of RelB and p50. Mol. Cell. Biol. 15: 3100–3109.
Ryseck RP, Bull P, Takamiya M, Bours V, Siebenlist U, Dobrzanski P & Bravo R (1992) RelB, a new Rel family transcription activator that can interact with p50-NF-κB. Mol. Cell. Biol. 12: 674–684.
Sanjabi S, Hoffmann A, Liou H-C, Baltimore D & Smale ST (2000) Selective requirement for c-Rel during IL-12 p40 gene induction in macrophages. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 97: 12705–12710.
Schwarz EM, Van Antwerp D & Verma IM (1996) Constitutive phosphorylation of IκBα by casein kinase II occurs preferentially at serine 293: requirement for degradation of free IκBα. Mol. Cell. Biol. 16: 3554–3559.
Sedgwick SG & Smerdon SJ (1999) The ankyrin repeat: a diversity of interactions on a common structural framework. Trends Biochem. Sci. 24: 311–316.
Sengchanthalangsy LL, Datta S, Huang D-B, Anderson E, Braswell EH & Ghosh G (1999) Characterization of the dimer interface of transcription factor NF-κB p50 homodimer. J. Mol. Biol. 289: 1029–1040.
Shiina T, Morimatsu M, Kitamura H, Ito T, Kidou S, Matsubara K, Matsuda Y, Saito M & Syuto B (2001) Genomic organization, chromosomal localization, and promoter analysis of the mouse MAIL gene. Immunogenetics 53: 649–655.
Siebenlist U, Franzoso G & Brown K (1994). Structure, regulation and function of NF-κB. Annu. Rev. Immunol. 12: 405–455.
Silverman N & Maniatis T (2001) NF-κB signaling pathways in mammalian and insect innate immunity. Genes Dev. 15: 2321–2342.
Simeonidis S, Liang S, Chen G & Thanos D (1997) Cloning and functional characterization of mouse IκBε. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 94: 14372–14377.
Tam WF, Lee LH, Davis L & Sen R (2000) Cytoplasmic sequestration of Rel proteins by IκBα requires Crml-dependent nuclear export. Mol. Cell. Biol. 20: 2269–2284.
Tam WF & Sen R (2001) IκB family members function by different mechanisms. J. Biol. Chem. 276: 7701–7704.
Thompson JE, Phillips RJ, Erdjument-Bromage H, Tempst P & Ghosh S (1995) IκBβ regulates the persistent response in a biphasic activation of NF-κB. Cell 80: 573–582.
Tran K, Merika M & Thanos D (1997) Distinct functional properties of IκBα and IκBβ. Mol. Cell. Biol. 17: 5386–5399.
Verma IM, Stevenson K, Schwarz EW, Van Antwerp D & Miyamoto S (1995) Rel/NF-κB/κB family: intimate tales of association and dissociation. Genes Dev. 9: 2723–2735.
Whiteside ST, Epinat J-C, Rice NR & Isräel A (1997) IκBε, a novel member of the kB family, controls RelA and c-Rel NF-κB activity. EMBO J. 16: 1413–1426.
Whiteside ST & Isräel A (1997) IκB proteins: structure, function and regulation. Semin. Canc. Biol. 8: 75–82.
Wulczyn FG, Naumann M & Scheidereit C (1992) Candidate proto-oncogene Bcl-3 encodes a subunit-specific inhibitor of transcription factor NF-κB. Nature 358: 597–599.
Yamazaki S, Muta T & Takeshige K (2001) A novel IκB protein, IκBζ, induced by proinflammatory stimuli, negatively regulates NF-κB in the nuclei. J. Biol. Chem. 276: 27657–27662.
Zabel U & Baeuerle PA (1990) Purified human IκB can rapidly dissociate the complex of the NF-κB transcription factor with its cognate DNA. Cell 61: 255–266.
Zabel U, Henkel T, Dos Santos Silva M & Baeuerle PA (1993) Nuclear uptake control of NF-κB by MAD-3, an IκB protein present in the nucleus. EMBO J. 12: 201–211.
Zhong H, May MJ, Jimi E & Ghosh S (2002) The phosphorylation status of nuclear NF-κB determines its association with CBP/p300 or HDAC-1. Mol. Cell 9: 625–636.
Zhong H, Voll RE & Ghosh S (1998) Phosphorylation of NF-κB p65 by PKA stimulates transcriptional activity by promoting a novel bivalent interaction with the coactivator CBP/p300. Mol. Cell 1: 661–671.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2003 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Huxford, T., Ghosh, G. (2003). The Structural Biology of NF-κB. In: Beyaert, R. (eds) Nuclear Factor кB. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0163-2_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0163-2_8
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-010-3983-3
Online ISBN: 978-94-010-0163-2
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive