Skip to main content
The EMBO Journal logoLink to The EMBO Journal
. 1992 Apr;11(4):1479–1486. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1992.tb05192.x

Identification of NF-jun, a novel inducible transcription factor that regulates c-jun gene transcription.

M A Brach 1, F Herrmann 1, H Yamada 1, P A Bäuerle 1, D W Kufe 1
PMCID: PMC556596  PMID: 1339344

Abstract

In this study we report the identification of a novel transcription factor, termed Nuclear Factor-jun (NF-jun). This factor contributes to inducible transcription of the c-jun gene in human myeloid leukemia cells. NF-jun was, however, undetectable in nuclear proteins from human monocytes, granulocytes, resting T lymphocytes and lung fibroblasts. NF-jun shares several features with the well characterized NF-kappa B in that binding activity can be generated in cytosolic extracts by treatment with dissociating agents. In addition, binding of NF-jun to its recognition site is enhanced by treatment of cells with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate, tumor necrosis factor alpha or the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide (CHX). However, as revealed by competition assays and electrophoretic mobility shift assays, purified NF-kappa B fails to bind to the c-jun fragment which contains the NF-jun site, and this fragment fails to compete with NF-kappa B for binding. UV crosslinking showed that NF-jun contains a 55 and a 125 kDa protein species. These findings demonstrate that the c-jun gene can be regulated by a transcription factor distinct from AP-1. Our findings also indicate that while NF-jun has several features in common with the NF-kappa B binding protein including its subcellular localization and its ability to translocate from the cytoplasm to the nucleus, this factor recognizes a unique DNA sequence. Moreover, the activity of this protein is differentially regulated in various cell types. NF-jun might function as a signal transducing molecule in order to mediate rapid induction of the early response gene c-jun in a cell type- and stimulus-specific manner.

Full text

PDF

Images in this article

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Angel P., Allegretto E. A., Okino S. T., Hattori K., Boyle W. J., Hunter T., Karin M. Oncogene jun encodes a sequence-specific trans-activator similar to AP-1. Nature. 1988 Mar 10;332(6160):166–171. doi: 10.1038/332166a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Angel P., Hattori K., Smeal T., Karin M. The jun proto-oncogene is positively autoregulated by its product, Jun/AP-1. Cell. 1988 Dec 2;55(5):875–885. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(88)90143-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Angel P., Imagawa M., Chiu R., Stein B., Imbra R. J., Rahmsdorf H. J., Jonat C., Herrlich P., Karin M. Phorbol ester-inducible genes contain a common cis element recognized by a TPA-modulated trans-acting factor. Cell. 1987 Jun 19;49(6):729–739. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(87)90611-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Baeuerle P. A., Baltimore D. Activation of DNA-binding activity in an apparently cytoplasmic precursor of the NF-kappa B transcription factor. Cell. 1988 Apr 22;53(2):211–217. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(88)90382-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Baeuerle P. A., Baltimore D. I kappa B: a specific inhibitor of the NF-kappa B transcription factor. Science. 1988 Oct 28;242(4878):540–546. doi: 10.1126/science.3140380. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Boyle W. J., Smeal T., Defize L. H., Angel P., Woodgett J. R., Karin M., Hunter T. Activation of protein kinase C decreases phosphorylation of c-Jun at sites that negatively regulate its DNA-binding activity. Cell. 1991 Feb 8;64(3):573–584. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(91)90241-p. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Brach M. A., Hass R., Sherman M. L., Gunji H., Weichselbaum R., Kufe D. Ionizing radiation induces expression and binding activity of the nuclear factor kappa B. J Clin Invest. 1991 Aug;88(2):691–695. doi: 10.1172/JCI115354. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Brach M. A., Herrmann F., Kufe D. W. Activation of the AP-1 transcription factor by arabinofuranosylcytosine in myeloid leukemia cells. Blood. 1992 Feb 1;79(3):728–734. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Brenner D. A., O'Hara M., Angel P., Chojkier M., Karin M. Prolonged activation of jun and collagenase genes by tumour necrosis factor-alpha. Nature. 1989 Feb 16;337(6208):661–663. doi: 10.1038/337661a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Chiu R., Boyle W. J., Meek J., Smeal T., Hunter T., Karin M. The c-Fos protein interacts with c-Jun/AP-1 to stimulate transcription of AP-1 responsive genes. Cell. 1988 Aug 12;54(4):541–552. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(88)90076-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Chodosh L. A., Carthew R. W., Sharp P. A. A single polypeptide possesses the binding and transcription activities of the adenovirus major late transcription factor. Mol Cell Biol. 1986 Dec;6(12):4723–4733. doi: 10.1128/mcb.6.12.4723. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Devary Y., Gottlieb R. A., Lau L. F., Karin M. Rapid and preferential activation of the c-jun gene during the mammalian UV response. Mol Cell Biol. 1991 May;11(5):2804–2811. doi: 10.1128/mcb.11.5.2804. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Dignam J. D., Lebovitz R. M., Roeder R. G. Accurate transcription initiation by RNA polymerase II in a soluble extract from isolated mammalian nuclei. Nucleic Acids Res. 1983 Mar 11;11(5):1475–1489. doi: 10.1093/nar/11.5.1475. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Ghosh D. A relational database of transcription factors. Nucleic Acids Res. 1990 Apr 11;18(7):1749–1756. doi: 10.1093/nar/18.7.1749. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Ghosh S., Baltimore D. Activation in vitro of NF-kappa B by phosphorylation of its inhibitor I kappa B. Nature. 1990 Apr 12;344(6267):678–682. doi: 10.1038/344678a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Grosschedl R., Baltimore D. Cell-type specificity of immunoglobulin gene expression is regulated by at least three DNA sequence elements. Cell. 1985 Jul;41(3):885–897. doi: 10.1016/s0092-8674(85)80069-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Herrmann F., Cannistra S. A., Lindemann A., Blohm D., Rambaldi A., Mertelsmann R. H., Griffin J. D. Functional consequences of monocyte IL-2 receptor expression. Induction of IL-1 beta secretion by IFN gamma and IL-2. J Immunol. 1989 Jan 1;142(1):139–143. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Kharbanda S. M., Sherman M. L., Kufe D. W. Transcriptional regulation of c-jun gene expression by arabinofuranosylcytosine in human myeloid leukemia cells. J Clin Invest. 1990 Nov;86(5):1517–1523. doi: 10.1172/JCI114870. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Lamph W. W., Wamsley P., Sassone-Corsi P., Verma I. M. Induction of proto-oncogene JUN/AP-1 by serum and TPA. Nature. 1988 Aug 18;334(6183):629–631. doi: 10.1038/334629a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Lenardo M. J., Kuang A., Gifford A., Baltimore D. NF-kappa B protein purification from bovine spleen: nucleotide stimulation and binding site specificity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1988 Dec;85(23):8825–8829. doi: 10.1073/pnas.85.23.8825. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Mantovani L., Henschler R., Brach M. A., Wieser R., Lübbert M., Lindemann A., Mertelsmann R. H., Herrmann F. Differential regulation of interleukin-6 expression in human fibroblasts by tumor necrosis factor-alpha and lymphotoxin. FEBS Lett. 1990 Sep 17;270(1-2):152–156. doi: 10.1016/0014-5793(90)81256-n. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Poli V., Mancini F. P., Cortese R. IL-6DBP, a nuclear protein involved in interleukin-6 signal transduction, defines a new family of leucine zipper proteins related to C/EBP. Cell. 1990 Nov 2;63(3):643–653. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(90)90459-r. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Ryder K., Nathans D. Induction of protooncogene c-jun by serum growth factors. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1988 Nov;85(22):8464–8467. doi: 10.1073/pnas.85.22.8464. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Ryseck R. P., Hirai S. I., Yaniv M., Bravo R. Transcriptional activation of c-jun during the G0/G1 transition in mouse fibroblasts. Nature. 1988 Aug 11;334(6182):535–537. doi: 10.1038/334535a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Sanger F., Nicklen S., Coulson A. R. DNA sequencing with chain-terminating inhibitors. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1977 Dec;74(12):5463–5467. doi: 10.1073/pnas.74.12.5463. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Schütte J., Minna J. D., Birrer M. J. Deregulated expression of human c-jun transforms primary rat embryo cells in cooperation with an activated c-Ha-ras gene and transforms rat-1a cells as a single gene. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1989 Apr;86(7):2257–2261. doi: 10.1073/pnas.86.7.2257. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Selden R. F., Howie K. B., Rowe M. E., Goodman H. M., Moore D. D. Human growth hormone as a reporter gene in regulation studies employing transient gene expression. Mol Cell Biol. 1986 Sep;6(9):3173–3179. doi: 10.1128/mcb.6.9.3173. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Sen R., Baltimore D. Inducibility of kappa immunoglobulin enhancer-binding protein Nf-kappa B by a posttranslational mechanism. Cell. 1986 Dec 26;47(6):921–928. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(86)90807-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Shakhov A. N., Collart M. A., Vassalli P., Nedospasov S. A., Jongeneel C. V. Kappa B-type enhancers are involved in lipopolysaccharide-mediated transcriptional activation of the tumor necrosis factor alpha gene in primary macrophages. J Exp Med. 1990 Jan 1;171(1):35–47. doi: 10.1084/jem.171.1.35. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Sherman M. L., Datta R., Hallahan D. E., Weichselbaum R. R., Kufe D. W. Ionizing radiation regulates expression of the c-jun protooncogene. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1990 Aug;87(15):5663–5666. doi: 10.1073/pnas.87.15.5663. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Sherman M. L., Stone R. M., Datta R., Bernstein S. H., Kufe D. W. Transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of c-jun expression during monocytic differentiation of human myeloid leukemic cells. J Biol Chem. 1990 Feb 25;265(6):3320–3323. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Shoemaker S. G., Hromas R., Kaushansky K. Transcriptional regulation of interleukin 3 gene expression in T lymphocytes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1990 Dec;87(24):9650–9654. doi: 10.1073/pnas.87.24.9650. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Taniguchi T. Regulation of cytokine gene expression. Annu Rev Immunol. 1988;6:439–464. doi: 10.1146/annurev.iy.06.040188.002255. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. Toneguzzo F., Hayday A. C., Keating A. Electric field-mediated DNA transfer: transient and stable gene expression in human and mouse lymphoid cells. Mol Cell Biol. 1986 Feb;6(2):703–706. doi: 10.1128/mcb.6.2.703. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Zabel U., Schreck R., Baeuerle P. A. DNA binding of purified transcription factor NF-kappa B. Affinity, specificity, Zn2+ dependence, and differential half-site recognition. J Biol Chem. 1991 Jan 5;266(1):252–260. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. Ziegler-Heitbrock H. W., Thiel E., Fütterer A., Herzog V., Wirtz A., Riethmüller G. Establishment of a human cell line (Mono Mac 6) with characteristics of mature monocytes. Int J Cancer. 1988 Mar 15;41(3):456–461. doi: 10.1002/ijc.2910410324. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The EMBO Journal are provided here courtesy of Nature Publishing Group

RESOURCES