Transcriptional coactivator PC4 stimulates promoter escape and facilitates transcriptional synergy by GAL4-VP16

Positive cofactor 4 (PC4) is a coactivator that strongly augments transcription by various activators, presumably by facilitating the assembly of the preinitiation complex (PIC). However, our previous observation of stimulation of promoter escape in GAL4-VP16-dependent transcription in the presence of PC4 suggested a possible role for PC4 in this step. Here, we performed quantitative analyses of the stimulatory effects of PC4 on initiation, promoter escape, and elongation in GAL4-VP16-dependent transcription and found that PC4 possesses the ability to stimulate promoter escape in response to GAL4-VP16 in addition to its previously demonstrated effect on PIC assembly. This stimulatory effect of PC4 on promoter escape required TFIIA and the TATA box binding protein-associated factor subunits of TFIID. Furthermore, PC4 displayed physical interactions with both TFIIH and GAL4-VP16 through its coactivator domain, and these interactions were regulated distinctly by PC4 phosphorylation. Finally, GAL4-VP16 and PC4 stimulated both initiation and promoter escape to similar extents on the promoters with three and five GAL4 sites; however, they stimulated promoter escape preferentially on the promoter with a single GAL4 site. These results provide insight into the mechanism by which PC4 permits multiply bound GAL4-VP16 to attain synergy to achieve robust transcriptional activation.