REKLES is an ARID3-restricted multifunctional domain

Bright/Dril1/ARID3a is a B cell-specific, matrix association (or attachment) region-binding transcriptional regulator of immunoglobulin heavy chain genes and of E2F1-dependent cell cycle progression. Bright contains a central DNA binding domain termed ARID(AT-rich interacting domain) and a C-terminal region termed REKLES (for a conserved amino acid motif). The ARID domain has been identified in seven highly conserved families of metazoan proteins (ARID1-5 and JARID1-2), whereas REKLES is found only in the ARID3 subfamily (composed of Bright/ARID3a, Bdp/ARID3b, and Bright-like/ARID3c). REKLES consists of two subdomains: a modestly conserved N-terminal REKLES alpha and a highly conserved (among ARID3 orthologous proteins) C-terminal REKLES beta. Previously we showed that Bright undergoes nucleocytoplasmic shuttling and that REKLES alpha and -beta were required, respectively, for nuclear import and Crm1-dependent nuclear export. Here we show that Bright further requires REKLES beta for self- association or paralogue association and for nuclear matrix targeting. REKLES promotes and regulates the extent of Bright multimerization, which occurs in the absence or presence of target DNA and is necessary for specific DNA binding. REKLES beta-mediated interaction of Bright with Bdp, which localizes strictly to the nucleus, traps Bright within the nucleus via neutralization of its nuclear export activity. These results identify REKLES as a multifunctional domain that has co-evolved with and regulates functional properties of the ARID3 DNA binding domain.