P/CAF/p300 complex binds the promoter for the heavy subunit of ferritin and contributes to its tissue-specific expression.

We analysed the role of the nuclear protein P/CAF in regulating the transcription of the gene for human heavy (H) ferritin in given cell types. P/CAF is a histone acetylase, recruited to specific promoters via interaction with the co-activator molecule p300/CREB-binding protein (CBP). Histone acetylation promoted by P/CAF destabilizes the nucleosome structure, thus contributing to activation of transcription. The transcription of the H ferritin gene is regulated by the transcription factor B-box-binding factor (Bbf), which bridges RNA polymerase II via p300/CBP. Northern blot analyses of RNA species from various human tissues and cell lines demonstrate that the H ferritin gene is expressed at high levels in cells containing high levels of the P/CAF transcript. Moreover, transient overexpression of P/CAF in cells constitutively expressing low levels of this protein activates transcription driven by the region of the H promoter interacting with Bbf. The involvement of p300/CBP in the possible P/CAF-mediated regulation of H promoter was also explored by evaluating the phenomenon in the presence of the oncoprotein E1A. The results of these experiments demonstrate that P/CAF activates the H promoter also in the presence of limited amounts of p300/CBP. We argue that P/CAF is a component of the basal transcription apparatus of the H ferritin gene and that the relative amounts of the P/CAF protein in different cell types could account for the cell-specific control of the H ferritin gene transcription.