Interaction between YY1 and the retinoblastoma protein. Regulation of cell cycle progression in differentiated cells.

Overexpression of the transcription factor YY1 activates DNA synthesis in differentiated primary human coronary artery smooth muscle cells. Overexpression of the retinoblastoma protein together with YY1 blocked this effect. In growth-arrested cells, YY1 resides in a complex with the retinoblastoma protein, but the complex is not detected in serum-stimulated S phase cultures, indicating that the interaction of the retinoblastoma protein and YY1 is cell cycle-regulated. Recombinant retinoblastoma protein directly interacts with YY1, destabilizing the interaction of YY1 with DNA and inhibiting its transcription initiator function in vitro. We conclude that in differentiated cells elevation of the nuclear level of YY1 protein favors progression into the S phase, and we propose that this activity is regulated by its interaction with the retinoblastoma protein.