Department of Biotechnology
inStem (Institute for Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine)

Dissecting the Interplay Between NRF2 and BACH1 at CsMBEs.

Publication Type

Journal Article

Date of Publication

October 3, 2025

Journal

Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland)

Volume/Issue

14/10

ISSN

2076-3921

BACH1 (BTB And CNC Homology 1) and NRF2 (Nuclear Factor Erythroid 2-related Factor 2) are transcription factors that regulate antioxidant and iron metabolism genes by competing for binding to cis-regulatory Maf-binding elements (CsMBEs) as heterodimers with small Maf proteins (sMafs). To dissect the mechanisms underlying this competition, we developed a chimeric tethering system where the DNA-binding domains of BACH1 or NRF2 were covalently linked to sMafG via a flexible, cleavable linker. This design enables efficient heterodimer formation on DNA and circumvents kinetic barriers to partner exchange in the solution. The site-specific fluorescent labelling of proteins allowed for the tracking of complex compositions by electrophoretic mobility shift assays. Both BACH1/sMafG and NRF2/sMafG heterodimers bind CsMBEs with similar affinities. Notably, DNA binding by BACH1 was impaired in a C574-dependent, redox-sensitive manner and promoted the exchange of heterodimer partners. Competition assays demonstrated that BACH1 and NRF2 can displace each other from preformed DNA-bound complexes, with greater efficiency when presented as preassembled heterodimers with sMafG. These findings reveal a redox-sensitive mechanism for regulating transcriptional switches at CsMBEs and highlight how preformed heterodimers facilitate the rapid displacement at target promoters.

Alternate Journal

Antioxidants (Basel)

PubMed ID

41154512

PubMed Central ID

PMC12561426

Authors

Tossounian MA
Zhyvoloup A
Chatterjee R
Gouge J