ABSTRACT: The Nuclear Factor I (NFI) family of transcription factors (TFs) plays key roles in cellular differentiation, proliferation, and homeostasis. As such, NFI family members engage in large number of interactions with other proteins and the chromatin. However, despite their well-established significance, the NFIs interactomes, their dynamics, and their functions have not been comprehensively examined. Here, we employed complementary omics-level techniques, i.e. interactomics (affinity purification mass spectrometry (AP-MS) and proximity-dependent biotinylation (BioID)), and chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-Seq), to obtain a comprehensive view of the NFI proteins and their interactions. Our analyses included all four main NFI family members, and a less studied short isoform of NFIB (NFIB4), which lacks the DNA binding domain. We observed that, despite exhibiting some redundancy, each family member had unique high-confidence interactors and target genes, highlighting distinct roles within the transcriptional regulatory networks. The study revealed that NFIs interact with a large number of other TFs to co-regulate a broad range of regulatory networks and cellular processes. Notably, time-dependent proximity-labeling unveiled a highly dynamic nature of NFI protein-protein interaction networks and hinted at temporal modulation of NFI interactions. Furthermore, gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis of NFI interactome and targetome revealed the involvement of NFIs in transcriptional regulation, chromatin organization, and cellular signaling pathways, and pathways related with cancer. Additionally, we observed that NFIB4 engages with proteins associated with mRNA regulation, which suggests that NFIs have roles beyond traditional DNA binding and transcriptional modulation. We propose that NFIs serve as pioneering TFs, playing critical roles in regulating other TFs and influencing a wide range of cellular processes. These insights into NFI protein-protein interactions and their dynamic, context-dependent nature provide a deeper understanding of gene regulation mechanisms and hint at the role of NFIs as master regulators.
Markku Varjosalo 
