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. 1994 Feb;14(2):1153–1159. doi: 10.1128/mcb.14.2.1153

Activation of the granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor promoter in T cells requires cooperative binding of Elf-1 and AP-1 transcription factors.

C Y Wang 1, A G Bassuk 1, L H Boise 1, C B Thompson 1, R Bravo 1, J M Leiden 1
PMCID: PMC358471  PMID: 8289796

Abstract

The granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) gene has been studied extensively as a model system of transcriptional induction during T-lymphocyte activation. The GM-CSF gene is not expressed in resting peripheral blood T cells but is rapidly induced at the transcriptional level following activation through the cell surface T-cell receptor. A highly conserved 19-bp element located immediately 5' of the human GM-CSF TATA box (bp -34 to -52), herein called purine box 1 (PB1), has been shown to bind a T-cell nuclear protein complex and to be required for transcriptional induction of the GM-CSF gene following T-cell activation. The PB1 sequence motif is highly conserved in both human and murine GM-CSF genes. In this report, we demonstrate that the PB1 element alone confers inducibility on a heterologous promoter following transfection into human Jurkat T cells. In addition, we identify a major PB1 nuclear protein-binding complex that is not present in resting peripheral blood T cells but is rapidly induced following T-cell activation. Sequence analysis revealed that PB1 is composed of adjacent binding sites for Ets and AP-1 transcription factors. In vitro mutagenesis experiments demonstrated that both the Ets and AP-1 sites are required for binding of the inducible PB1 nuclear protein complex and for the transcriptional activity of this element and the GM-CSF promoter in activated T cells. Using antibodies specific for different Ets and AP-1 family members, we demonstrate that the major inducible PB1-binding activity present in activated T-cell nuclear extracts is composed of the Elf-1, c-Fos, and JunB transcription factors. Taken together, these results suggest that cooperative interactions between specific Ets and AP-1 family members are important in regulating inducible gene expression following T-cell activation.

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Selected References

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