Spt6 promotes transcription elongation at many genes and functions as a histone H3 chaperone to alter chromatin structure during transcription. We show here that mammalian Spt6 binds Ser2-phosphorylated (Ser2P) RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) through a primitive SH2 domain, which recognizes phosphoserine rather than phosphotyrosine residues. Surprisingly, a point mutation in the Spt6 SH2 domain (R1358K) blocked binding to RNAPIIo without affecting transcription elongation rates in vitro. However, HIV-1 and c-myc RNAs formed in cells expressing the mutant Spt6 protein were longer than normal and contained splicing defects. Ectopic expression of the wild-type, but not mutant, Spt6 SH2 domain, caused bulk poly(A) + RNAs to be retained in the nucleus, further suggesting a widespread role for Spt6 in mRNA processing or assembly of export-competent mRNP particles. We cloned the human Spt6-interacting protein, hIws1 (interacts with Spt6), and found that it associates with the nuclear RNA export factor, REF1/Aly. Depletion of endogenous hIws1 resulted in mRNA processing defects, lower levels of REF1/Aly at the c-myc gene, and nuclear retention of bulk HeLa poly(A) + RNAs in vivo. Thus binding of Spt6 to Ser2-P RNAPII provides a cotranscriptional mechanism to recruit Iws1, REF1/Aly, and associated mRNA processing, surveillance, and export factors to responsive genes.[Keywords: Spt6; SH2 domain; RNAPII CTD; transcription elongation; splicing; nuclear mRNA export] Supplemental material is available at http://www.genesdev.org.

Highlights d SARS-CoV-2 replication induces a delayed IFN response in lung epithelial cells d MDA5 and LGP2 are the major sensors recognizing SARS-CoV-2 infection d Viral intermediates activate the IFN response through MDA5mediated sensing d IRF3, IRF5, and NF-kB/p65 are required for the IFN response induced by SARS-CoV-2

Many steps in gene expression and mRNA biosynthesis are coupled to transcription elongation and organized through the C-terminal domain (CTD) of the large subunit of RNA polymerase II (RNAPII). We showed recently that Spt6, a transcription elongation factor and histone H3 chaperone, binds to the Ser2P CTD and recruits Iws1 and the REF1/Aly mRNA export adaptor to facilitate mRNA export. Here we show that Iws1 also recruits the HYPB/Setd2 histone methyltransferase to the RNAPII elongation complex and is required for H3K36 trimethylation (H3K36me3) across the transcribed region of the c-Myc, HIV-1, and PABPC1 genes in vivo. Interestingly, knockdown of either Iws1 or HYPB/Setd2 also enhanced H3K27me3 at the 5' end of the PABPC1 gene, and depletion of Iws1, but not HYPB/Setd2, increased histone acetylation across the coding regions at the HIV-1 and PABPC1 genes in vivo. Knockdown of HYPB/Setd2, like Iws1, induced bulk HeLa poly(A)+ mRNAs to accumulate in the nucleus. In vitro, recombinant Spt6 binds selectively to a stretch of uninterrupted consensus repeats located in the N-terminal half of the CTD and recruits Iws1. Thus Iws1 connects two distinct CTD-binding proteins, Spt6 and HYPB/Setd2, in a megacomplex that affects mRNA export as well as the histone modification state of active genes.

P-TEFb (CycT1:Cdk9), the metazoan RNA polymerase II Ser2 C-terminal domain (CTD) kinase, regulates transcription elongation at many genes and integrates mRNA synthesis with histone modification, pre-mRNA processing, and mRNA export. Recruitment of P-TEFb to target genes requires deubiquitination of H2Bub, phosphorylation of H3S10, and the bromodomain protein, Brd4. Brd4 activates growth-related genes in the G1 phase of the cell cycle and can also tether P-TEFb to mitotic chromosomes, possibly to mark sites of active transcription throughout cell division. P-TEFb co-operates with c-Myc during transactivation and cell transformation, and also requires SKIP (cSki-interacting protein), an mRNA elongation and splicing factor. Some functions of the P-TEFb/ Ser2P CTD are executed by the Spt6 transcription elongation factor, which binds directly to the phosphorylated CTD and recruits the Iws1 ('interacts with Spt6') protein. Iws1, in turn, interacts with the REF1/Aly nuclear export adaptor and stimulates the kinetics of mRNA export. Given the prominent role of Spt6 in regulating chromatin structure, the CTD-bound Spt6:Iws1 complex may also control histone modifications during elongation. Following transcription, P-TEFb accompanies the mature mRNA to the cytoplasm to promote translation elongation.