Androgen receptor (AR) transcriptional activity depends on interactions between the AR NH2-terminal region and transcriptional coregulators. A yeast two-hybrid screen of a human testis library using predicted α-helical NH2-terminal fragment AR-(370-420) as bait identified suppressor of variegation 3-9 homolog 2 (SUV39H2) histone methyltransferase as an AR interacting protein. SUV39H2 interaction with AR and the AR coregulator, melanoma antigen-A11 (MAGE-A11), was verified in two-hybrid, in vitro glutathione S-transferase affinity matrix and coimmunoprecipitation assays. Fluorescent immunocytochemistry colocalized SUV39H2 and AR in the cytoplasm without androgen, in the nucleus with androgen, and with MAGE-A11 in the nucleus independent of androgen. Chromatin immunoprecipitation using antibodies raised against SUV39H2 demonstrated androgen-dependent recruitment of AR and SUV39H2 to the androgen-responsive upstream enhancer of the prostate-specific antigen gene. SUV39H2 functioned cooperatively with MAGE-A11 to increase androgen-dependent AR transcriptional activity. SUV39H2 histone methyltransferase is an AR coactivator that increases androgen-dependent transcriptional activity through interactions with AR and MAGE-A11.
Keywords: Androgen receptor; Histone methyltransferase; MAGE-A11; Melanoma antigen-A11; SUV39H2.
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