Article

  • The EMBO Journal (1999) 18, 5099 - 5107
  • doi:10.1093/emboj/18.18.5099

HDAC4 deacetylase associates with and represses the MEF2 transcription factor

Eric A. Miska2,1, Christina Karlsson3,1, Emma Langley2,1, Søren J. Nielsen2,1, Jon Pines3,1 and Tony Kouzarides2,1

  1. Wellcome/CRC Institute, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, UK
  2. Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
  3. Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

Correspondence to:

Tony Kouzarides, E-mail: tk106@mole.bio.cam.ac.uk

Received 16 April 1999; Accepted 27 July 1999; Revised 11 June 1999


The acetylation state of histones can influence transcription. Acetylation, carried out by acetyltransferases such as CBP/p300 and P/CAF, is commonly associated with transcriptional stimulation, whereas deacetylation, mediated by the three known human deacetylases HDAC1, 2 and 3, causes transcriptional repression. The known human deacetylases represent a single family and are homologues of the yeast RPD3 deacetylase. Here we identify and characterize HDAC4, a representative of a new human histone deacetylase family, which is homologous to the yeast HDA1 deacetylase. We show that HDAC4, unlike other deacetylases, shuttles between the nucleus and the cytoplasm in a process involving active nuclear export. In the nucleus, HDAC4 associates with the myocyte enhancer factor MEF2A. Binding of HDAC4 to MEF2A results in the repression of MEF2A transcriptional activation, a function that requires the deacetylase domain of HDAC4. These results identify MEF2A as a nuclear target for HDAC4-mediated repression and suggests that compartmentalization may be a novel mechanism for controlling the nuclear activity of this new family of deacetylases.

  • Keywords:

    • HDAC4,
    • HDA1,
    • histone deacetylase,
    • MEF2,
    • nuclear export