MCM4 shares homology to a replication/DNA-binding domain in CTF and is contacted by pRb.
pRb limits the initiation of DNA replication. By immunoblotting of in vitro kinase assays we show that Cdk4,6-cyclin D contributed to pRb-phosphorylation at Ser-608, which was necessary to release pRb from chromatin in Nalm-6 cells, demonstrated by immunoprecipitations of differential cell extractions. A new binding protein of under-phosphorylated pRb, MCM4, was identified using LexA-Rb(561-660) in the two-hybrid assay. Sequence analysis revealed a novel conserved motif in MCM4's COOH-terminus with homology to the DNA-binding/viral replication activation domain of CTF/NF-I indicating their implication in the same process, and suggesting a model that CTF/NF-I stimulated binding of MCM4 to DNA, thereby to under-phosphorylated pRb. Accordingly, the pRb-MCM4-CTF/NF-I complex was immunodetected in Nalm-6 cells. Moreover, the motif was also in XPD, pointing to a collaboration of CTF/NF-I with XPD in nucleotide excision repair and in basal transcription and with MCM4 in the assembly of MCM complexes in which pRb specifically contacted MCM4.