JunB potentiates function of BRCA1 activation domain 1 (AD1) through a coiled-coil-mediated interaction.

BRCA1 is involved in the regulation of multiple nuclear events including transcription. AD1, one of the two trans-activation domains in BRCA1, stimulates transcription in a cell context-dependent manner. Here, it is shown that BRCA1 interacts with Jun proteins via a coiled-coil motif in AD1 and the basic leucine zipper (bZIP) region of the Jun proteins. The Jun-interacting domain in BRCA1 is critical for AD1-mediated transcriptional activation. In particular, the strength of AD1 in transcriptional activation is limited by the JunB level and ectopic expression of JunB potentiates the transcriptional activity of AD1. Furthermore, JunB mRNA expression is down-regulated in many ovarian tumor tissues examined. Thus, the coiled-coil-mediated cooperation between BRCA1 and JunB may facilitate the function of these proteins in tissue-specific transcriptional regulation and tumor suppression.