GATA-1 is a key transcription factor essential for the differentiation of the erythroid, megakaryocytic and eosinophilic lineages. GATA-1 functions in erythropoiesis involve lineage-specific gene activation and repression of early hematopoietic transcription programs. GATA-1 is known to interact with other transcription factors, such as FOG-1, TAL-1 and Sp1 and also with CBP/p300 and the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex in vitro. Despite this information the molecular basis of its essential functions in erythropoiesis remains unclear. We show here that GATA-1 is mostly present in a high (> 670kDa) molecular weight complex that appears to be dynamic during erythroid differentiation. In order to characterize the GATA-1 complex(es) from erythroid cells, we employed an in vivo biotinylation tagging approach in mouse erythroleukemic (MEL) cells[1][1]. Briefly, this involved the fusion of a small (23aa) peptide tag to GATA-1 and its specific, efficient biotinylation by the bacterial BirA biotin ligase which is co-expressed with tagged GATA-1 in MEL cells. Nuclear extracts expressing biotinylated tagged GATA-1 were bound directly to streptavidin beads and co-purifying proteins were identified by mass spectrometry. In addition to the known GATA-1-interacting transcription factors FOG-1, TAL-1 and Ldb-1, we describe novel interactions with the essential hematopoietic transcription factor Gfi-1b and the chromatin remodeling complexes MeCP1 and ACF/WCRF. Significantly, GATA-1 interaction with the repressive MeCP1 complex requires FOG-1. We also show in erythroid cells that GATA-1, FOG-1 and MeCP1 are stably bound to repressed genes representing early hematopoietic (e.g. GATA-2) or alternative lineage-specific (e.g. eosinophilic) transcription programs, whereas the GATA-1/Gfi1b complex is bound to repressed genes involved in cell proliferation. In contrast, GATA-1 and TAL-1 are bound to the active erythroid-specific EKLF gene. Our findings on GATA-1 complexes provide novel insight as to the critical roles that GATA-1 plays in many aspects of erythropoiesis by revealing the GATA-1 partners in the execution of specific functions.
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