The TATA-binding protein (TBP) is a key part of the transcription complex of
RNA polymerase II. Alone or as a part of the basal transcription factor TFIID,
TBP binds the TATA box located in the core region of the TATA-containing
promoters of class II genes. Previously, we studied the effects of single
nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on TBP/TATA-box interactions using gel
retardation assay. It was demonstrated that most SNPs in the TATA boxes of some
human gene promoters cause a 2- to 4-fold decrease in TBP/TATA affinity, which
is associated with an increased risk of hereditary diseases, such as β
thalassemias of diverse severity, hemophilia B Leyden, myocardial infarction,
thrombophlebitis, lung cancer, etc. In this work, the process of TBP/TATA
complex formation has been studied in real time by a stopped-flow technique
using recombinant human TBP and duplexes, which were identical to the TATA box
of the wild-type and a SNP-containing triosephosphate isomerase gene promoter
and were fluorescently labeled by the Cy3/Cy5 FRET pair. It has been
demonstrated for the first time that real-time binding of TBP to the TATA box
of the TPI gene promoter is complete within 10 s and is
described by a single-stage kinetic model. The complex formation of TBP with
the wild-type TATA box occurs 5.5 times faster and the complex dissociation
occurs 31 times slower compared with the SNPcontaining TATA box. Within the
first seconds of the interaction, TBP binds to and simultaneously bends the
TATA box. Importantly, the TATA box of the wild-type TPI gene
promoter requires lower TBP concentrations compared to the TATA box containing
the -24T → G SNP, which is associated with neurological and muscular
disorders, cardiomyopathy, and other diseases.