PKA-activated ApAF-ApC/EBP heterodimer is a key downstream effector of ApCREB and is necessary and sufficient for the consolidation of longterm facilitation

Long-term memory requires transcriptional regulation by a combination of positive and negative transcription factors. Aplysia activating factor (ApAF) is known to be a positive transcription factor that forms heterodimers with ApC/EBP and ApCREB2. How these heterodimers are regulated and how they pa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Journal of cell biology Vol. 174; no. 6; p. 827
Main Authors Jin-A, Lee, Sue-Hyun, Lee, Lee, Changhoon, Deok-Jin Chang
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York Rockefeller University Press 11.09.2006
Subjects
Cellular biology
Gene expression
Genes
Memory
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Summary:Long-term memory requires transcriptional regulation by a combination of positive and negative transcription factors. Aplysia activating factor (ApAF) is known to be a positive transcription factor that forms heterodimers with ApC/EBP and ApCREB2. How these heterodimers are regulated and how they participate in the consolidation of long-term facilitation (LTF) has not, however, been characterized. We found that the functional activation of ApAF required phosphorylation of ApAF by PKA on Ser-266. In addition, ApAF lowered the threshold of LTF by forming a heterodimer with ApCREB2. Moreover, once activated by PKA, the ApAF-ApC/EBP heterodimer transactivates enhancer response element-containing genes and can induce LTF in the absence of CRE- and CREB-mediated gene expression. Collectively, these results suggest that PKA-activated ApAF-ApC/EBP heterodimer is a core downstream effector of ApCREB in the consolidation of LTF. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:0021-9525
1540-8140