The adenovirus early region 1A (E1A) oncoprotein mediates cell transformation by deregulating host cellular processes and activating viral gene expression by recruitment of cellular proteins that include cyclic-AMP response element binding (CREB) binding protein (CBP)/p300 and the retinoblastoma protein (pRb). While E1A is capable of independent interaction with CBP/p300 or pRb, simultaneous binding of both proteins is required for maximal biological activity. To obtain insights into the mechanism by which E1A hijacks the cellular transcription machinery by competing with essential transcription factors for binding to CBP/p300, we have determined the structure of the complex between the transcriptional adaptor zinc finger-2 (TAZ2) domain of CBP and the conserved region-1 (CR1) domain of E1A. The E1A CR1 domain is unstructured in the free state and upon binding folds into a local helical structure mediated by an extensive network of intermolecular hydrophobic contacts. By NMR titrations, we show that E1A efficiently competes with the N-terminal transactivation domain of p53 for binding to TAZ2 and that pRb interacts with E1A at 2 independent sites located in CR1 and CR2. We show that pRb and the CBP TAZ2 domain can bind simultaneously to the CR1 site of E1A to form a ternary complex and propose a structural model for the pRb:E1A:CBP complex on the basis of published x-ray data for homologous binary complexes. These observations reveal the molecular basis by which E1A inhibits p53-mediated transcriptional activation and provide a rationale for the efficiency of cellular transformation by the adenoviral E1A oncoprotein.CBP/p300 ͉ NMR ͉ protein structure ͉ transcriptional coactivator ͉ retinoblastoma protein T he adenovirus early region 1A (E1A) protein plays a central function in viral infection by activating genes required for viral replication and by deregulating the host cell cycle to force entry into S phase and repress differentiation (1-3). E1A deregulates the cell cycle through interactions with key cellular proteins, including the general transcriptional coactivators cyclic-AMP response element binding (CREB) binding protein (CBP) and p300 (4, 5) and the retinoblastoma protein (pRb) (6), which lead to epigenetic modifications and reprogramming of host cell transcriptional processes (7). Binding of E1A to pRb displaces the E2F transcription factors, thereby relieving E2F repression and resulting in premature S-phase entry and transcriptional activation of E2F-regulated genes (8-10). Association of E1A with CBP/p300 results in global hypoacetylation of K18 of histone H3 and may be linked to the ability of E1A to induce oncogenic transformation (11). E1A is a multifunctional protein (12) composed of 4 conserved regions (CR1-CR4, Fig. 1A). E1A uses both CR1 and CR2 for interaction with pRb (13,14). CR2 contains a characteristic pRb recognition motif, LX-CXE, which binds with high affinity to the B cyclin fold domain of the pRb pocket region (15, 16). The CR1 region of E1A binds at the interface of the A and B ...