E2F transcription factors control diverse biological processes through regulation of target gene expression. However, the mechanism by which this regulation is established, and the relative contribution of each E2F member are still poorly defined. We have investigated the role of E2F2 in regulating cellular proliferation. We show that E2F2 is required for the normal G(0)/G(1) phase because targeted disruption of the E2F2 gene causes T cells to enter S phase early and to undergo accelerated cell division. A large set of E2F target genes involved in DNA replication and cell cycle progression (such as Mcm's, cyclins and Cdc2a) that are silent in G(0) and typically transcribed late in G(1) phase are already actively expressed in quiescent T cells and MEFs lacking E2F2. The classic E2F activators, E2F1 and E2F3, are largely dispensable for this process because compound loss of E2F1(-/-) and E2F2(-/-) produces a comparably shortened G(0)/G(1) phase, with early S phase entry. Likewise, shRNA knockdown of E2F3 does not alter significantly the E2F2(-/-) phenotype. Chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis indicates that in wild-type cells the promoters of the aberrantly early-transcribed genes are occupied by E2F2 in G(0), suggesting a direct role for E2F2 in transcriptional repression. We conclude that E2F2 functions to transcriptionally repress cell cycle genes to establish the G(0) state.

The current concept regarding cell cycle regulation of DNA replication is that Cdt1, together with origin recognition complex and CDC6 proteins, constitutes the machinery that loads the minichromosome maintenance complex, a candidate replicative helicase, onto chromatin during the G(1) phase. The actions of origin recognition complex and CDC6 are suppressed through phosphorylation by cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdks) after S phase to prohibit rereplication. It has been suggested in metazoan cells that the function of Cdt1 is blocked through binding to an inhibitor protein, geminin. However, the functional relationship between the Cdt1-geminin system and Cdks remains to be clarified. In this report, we demonstrate that human Cdt1 is phosphorylated by cyclin A-dependent kinases dependent on its cyclin-binding motif. Cdk phosphorylation resulted in the binding of Cdt1 to the F-box protein Skp2 and subsequent degradation. In contrast, in vitro DNA binding activity of Cdt1 was inhibited by the phosphorylation. However, geminin binding to Cdt1 was not affected by the phosphorylation. Finally we provide evidence that inactivation of Cdk1 results in Cdt1 dephosphorylation and rebinding to chromatin in murine FT210 cells synchronized around the G(2)/M phase. Taken together, these findings suggest that Cdt1 function is also negatively regulated by the Cdk phosphorylation independent of geminin binding.