Enhanced binding of RNAP II CTD phosphatase FCP1 to RAP74 following CK2 phosphorylation

FCP1 (TFIIF-associated CTD phosphatase) is the first identified CTD-specific phosphatase required to recycle RNA polymerase II (RNAP II). FCP1 activity has been shown to be regulated by the general transcription factors TFIIF (RAP74) and TFIIB, protein kinase CK2 (CK2), and the HIV-1 transcriptional activator Tat. Phosphorylation of FCP1 by CK2 stimulates FCP1 phosphatase activity and enhances binding of RAP74 to FCP1. We have examined consensus CK2 phosphorylation sites (acidic residue n + 3 to serine or threonine residue) located immediately adjacent to both RAP74-binding sites of FCP1. We demonstrate that both of these consensus CK2 sites can be phosphorylated in vitro and that phosphorylation at either CK2 site results in enhanced binding of RAP74 to FCP1. The CK2 site adjacent to the RAP74-binding site in the central domain of FCP1 is phosphorylated at a single threonine site (T584). The CK2 site adjacent to the RAP74-binding site in the carboxyl-terminal domain can be phosphorylated at three successive serine residues (S942-S944), with phosphorylations at S942 and S944 both contributing to enhanced binding to RAP74. With the use of tandem Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR), we demonstrate that the phosphorylation of S942-S944 occurs in a semiordered fashion with the initial phosphorylation occurring at either S942 or S944 followed by a second phosphorylation to yield the S942/S944 diphosphorylated species. Using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, we identify and map chemical shift changes onto the solution structure of the carboxyl-terminal domain of RAP74 (RAP74(436-517)) on complexation of RAP74(436-517) with phosphorylated FCP1 peptides. These results provide new functional and structural information on the role of phosphorylation in the recognition of acidic-rich activation domains involved in transcriptional regulation, and bring insights into how CK2 and TFIIF regulate FCP1 function.