Structural basis for Klf4 recognition of methylated DNA

Transcription factor Kruppel-like factor 4 (Klf4), one of the factors directing cellular reprogramming, recognizes the CpG dinucleotide (whether methylated or unmodified) within a specific G/C-rich sequence. The binding affinity of the mouse Klf4 DNA-binding domain for methylated DNA is only slightly stronger than that for an unmodified oligonucleotide. The structure of the C-terminal three Kruppel-like zinc fingers (ZnFs) of mouse Klf4, in complex with fully methylated DNA, was determined at 1.85 angstrom resolution. An arginine and a glutamate interact with the methyl group. By comparison with two other recently characterized structures of ZnF protein complexes with methylated DNA, we propose a common principle of recognition of methylated CpG by C2H2 ZnF proteins, which involves a spatially conserved Arg-Glu pair.