Mediator Subunit MED16 Collaborates with UBP1-TFCP2 to Control Transcriptional Activation or Repression via Promoter Positional Specificity

Abstract

The Mediator complex acts as a master transcriptional co-regulator, yet the mechanisms by which its individual subunits mediate gene-specific transcription remain incompletely defined. Here, we report that the Mediator subunit MED16 physically associates with the UBP1-TFCP2 heterodimer, which controls the context-dependent transcriptional activation or repression. Biochemical purification combined with mass spectrometry validated MED16 as a bona fide interactor of UBP1-TFCP2. Integrative transcriptomic analyses demonstrated that UBP1 recruits the Mediator complex through MED16 to activate a panel of silenced genes associated with lung homeostasis, angiogenesis and cell proliferation. By contrast, MED16-UBP1 co-occupancy at the HIV-1 transcription start site (TSS) represses viral transcription and sustains HIV latency by compromising pre-initiation complex assembly. Domain-mapping experiments revealed that MED16 must integrate into the intact Mediator complex to exert either activating or repressive function. Genomic analysis uncovered a positional regulatory logic: UBP1-TFCP2 binding motifs adjacent to the TSS promote transcription, while those overlapping the TSS elicit repression. Collectively, our work identifies an MED16-UBP1 regulatory module with dual transcriptional activity and highlights this signaling axis as a potential target for HIV-1 interventions.