Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UNIPROT:P51532 (transcriptional activator)
 6,546 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We have investigated the role of interferon regulatory factor-1 (IRF-1), an interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) inducible transcriptional activator, on major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I gene transcription. IRF-1 alone is sufficient to trans-activate both transfected and endogenous class I genes and the effect of IRF-1 appears to be direct and sequence-specific. These data suggest that IRF-1 is involved in the IFN-gamma mediated induction of MHC class I expression.
 ...
PMID:The activation of major histocompatibility complex class I genes by interferon regulatory factor-1 (IRF-1). 137 62

The passage of MHC class I heavy chains through the exocytic pathway is promoted by association with beta 2 microglobulin (beta 2m). In order to analyze the structural basis of this phenomenon, processing and cell surface expression of HLA class I molecules have been investigated in the beta 2m null human melanoma cell line FO-1 transfected with either the human or mouse beta 2m genes. These natural structural variants of beta 2m display 30% amino acid sequence divergence. In comparison with a human beta 2m transfectant of the FO-1 cell line (designated FO-1H), FO-1 cells transfected with the mouse beta 2m gene (FO-1C) express HLA class I molecules that are processed with grossly altered kinetics and are present on the cell surface at reduced levels. The suboptimal expression of HLA class I heavy chains encoded by FO-1C cells reflects a defect in heavy chain stability since cell surface expression of HLA class I antigens was increased following incubation at 30 degrees C. The increased cell surface expression paralleled accelerated processing of HLA class I heavy chains by FO-1C cells. In contrast, no induction in either cell surface expression or processing of HLA class I heavy chains was observed for the beta 2m-negative FO-1 parent cell line, which remained HLA class I antigen null when cultured at 30 degrees C, or the FO-1H human beta 2m transfectant, which expressed equivalent levels of HLA class I antigens on the cell surface at 37 degrees C and 30 degrees C. Further up-regulation of the temperature-sensitive induction of HLA class I antigen expression was accomplished by treatment of the FO-1C transfectant with interferon-gamma; this latter effect appears to be active at a posttranscriptional step for FO-1 cells since IFN-gamma was not as potent a transcriptional activator at 30 degrees C as it was at 37 degrees C. These results indicate that HLA class I heavy chains expressed by FO-1C cells are subject to temperature-sensitive and cytokine-inducible stabilization that increases their affinity for the structural variant of beta 2m and promotes exocytosis of the HLA class I heterodimer to the cell surface. Furthermore, beta 2m non-conformed MHC class I heavy chains undergo stabilization that is not associated with enhanced cell surface expression, indicating that the exocytosis of putative "empty" HLA class I antigens is a process dependent upon association with beta 2m.
 ...
PMID:The role of beta-2 microglobulin in temperature-sensitive and interferon-gamma-induced exocytosis of HLA class I molecules. 141 16

IFN stimulated genes (ISGs) contain common DNA motif termed IFN consensus sequence (ICS) at their promoters that enable IFN responsiveness. Different transcription factors capable of interacting with the ICS have been described. Previously, we reported the cloning of a factor capable of binding to the ICS (ICSBP) that demonstrates similarity at DNA the binding domain with three other ICS binding factor, i.e. IRF-1, IRF-2 and ISGF3 gamma. ICSBP is expressed constitutively in hematopoietic cells and its expression is further induced by IFN-gamma. This is a negative trans-acting regulator of ISGs; however, its effect is attenuated following prolonged exposures of cells to both types of IFNs. In this communication, we show that short exposures of cells to IFNs (priming) are sufficient to alleviate ICSBP mediated repression. Further, exposure of primed cells to the synthetic dsRNA (polyl-polyC) results in total abrogation of ICSBP repression. In an attempt to unravel the molecular mechanism governing this conditional repression of ICSBP, the direct involvement of transcriptional activator IRF-1 is demonstrated. We postulate that constitutive expression of ICSBP in hematopoietic cells is mediating submaximal expression of ISGs such as MHC class I. Our data demonstrate that IRF-1 competes with ICSBP for the binding to the ISRE element, resulting in the alleviation of ICSBP repression. Thus, the magnitude of ISGs expression is a result of a fine balance between positive and negative regulators.
 ...
PMID:IFN consensus sequence binding protein (ICSBP) is a conditional repressor of IFN inducible promoters. 752 89

Reactive oxygen intermediates (ROIs) are involved in many neurological diseases. Despite the toxic nature of these compounds, low concentrations of ROIs can function as signaling molecules. One target for their signaling function is the inducible transcription factor NF-kappa B. Predominantly in lymphoid cells, induction of NF-kappa B in response to oxidative stress leads to transcriptional activation of many genes which are relevant for pathogen defense. These include the TNF, IL-6, IL-8, GM-CSF, beta-interferon, MHC class I and V-CAM genes. However, NF-kappa B is also abundant in various cell types of the nervous system, including neurons. We propose that NF-kappa B plays a role as a redox-controlled transcriptional activator also in cells of the nervous system and in that property may contribute to neurological disorders. Our finding that some neurons from healthy brain contain constitutively active NF-kappa B suggests a role of NF-kappa B in normal brain function as well.
 ...
PMID:Potential involvement of the transcription factor NF-kappa B in neurological disorders. 826 32

The activation of natural killer (NK) cells, cytotoxic lymphocytes capable of major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-unrestricted killing and early antiviral defense, is temporally related to the increased interferon (IFN)-alpha/beta production that is seen in the viral infection of mice. Type I IFN (IFN-alpha/beta) are expressed in many cell types early after primary viral infection and have been shown to mediate resistance against a variety of viruses. In this study, the role of the transcriptional activator IFN regulatory factor-1 (IRF-1) in murine NK cell activity was assessed. IRF-1-deficient mice displayed a normal frequency of NK marker-positive cells, but exhibited greatly reduced NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity after both virus infection and stimulation with the IFN inducer polyinosinic:polycytidilic acid in vivo. In vitro, cytolytic activity in IRF-1-deficient NK cells remained defective after stimulation with IFN-beta, IL-2, and IL-12. IRF-1-deficient mice were unable to eliminate syngeneic MHC class I-negative tumor cells in vivo, and had a reduced ability to reject parental semi-allogeneic donor cells from the circulation. Thus, IRF-1 is essential for the induction of NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity and for the in vivo effector functions that are mediated by this activity.
 ...
PMID:The transcription factor interferon regulatory factor-1 is essential for natural killer cell function in vivo. 892 Aug 93

MHC class I molecules are normally expressed at very low levels in the brain and their up-regulation in response to cytokines and viral infections has been associated with a number of neurological disorders. Here we demonstrate that the down-regulation of surface class I molecules in differentiated primary rat oligodendrocytes was accompanied by reduced steady-state levels of class I heavy-chain mRNA. Transient expression assays were performed in oligodendrocytes and fibroblasts, using a mouse H-2Kb class I promoter chloramphenicol acetyltransferase plasmid termed pH2KCAT (which contained 5'-flanking sequences from -2033 to +5 bp of the H-2Kb gene relative to the transcriptional start site at +1 bp). These assays showed that H-2Kb promoter activity was reduced in oligodendrocytes but not in class I-expressing fibroblasts. H-2Kb promoter activity was up-regulated in oligodendrocytes co-transfected with a plasmid expression vector encoding the transcriptional activator tax of human T-cell leukaemia virus type I, showing that down-regulation of promoter activity was reversible. Deletion mutant analysis of the H-2Kb promoter revealed the presence of negative regulatory elements that were functional in oligodendrocytes at -1.61 to -1.07 kb and -242 to -190 bp. Deletion of sequences in pH2KCAT encompassing the downstream element totally abolished promoter activity in both oligodendrocytes and fibroblasts, whereas a deletion within the upstream negative regulatory element increased promoter activity specifically in oligodendrocytes. The upstream negative regulatory element also down-regulated a linked heterologous herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase promoter in oligodendrocytes, but not in fibroblasts. Gel retardation assays using overlapping DNA probes that spanned the entire -1.61 to -1.07 kb region revealed the presence of a number of DNA-binding activities that were present in oligodendrocyte, but not in fibroblast nuclear extracts.
 ...
PMID:Transcriptional regulation of MHC class I gene expression in rat oligodendrocytes. 946 4

The AIR-1-encoded CIITA transcriptional activator is crucial for both constitutive and IFN-gamma-induced MHC class II gene transcription. We show here that the MHC class II negative phenotype of the human hepatocarcinoma cell lines Alexander and HepG2 remains unmodified after treatment with IFN-gamma, although MHC class I expression is up-modulated. This correlates with absence of CIITA mature transcripts. Transfection of an expressible CIITA cDNA in Alexander cells resulted in a very high cell surface expression of all three human class II subsets, HLA-DR, -DP and -DQ, indicating that normally observed induction of CIITA expression by IFN-gamma is probably blocked, in the hepatocarcinoma cell lines, at the level of CIITA transcription and not at the level of IFN-gamma receptor binding and signal transduction mechanisms. To assess whether MHC class II expression on CIITA-transfected Alexander cells could have functional relevance, we tested their capacity to present antigenic peptides to an HLA-DR-restricted T cell line specific for a peptide of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Ag85 protein. It was found that the transfected cells could not only present the exogenously supplemented peptide but also process Ag85 protein to generate the specific epitope recognized by the HLA-DR-restricted T cell line. Similar results were obtained with CIITA-transfected CFPAC-1 pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells, which differed from Alexander cells in that they were inducible by IFN-gamma. These results suggest new strategies to act on CIITA for increasing the potential of a tumor cell to present putative tumor Ags to the immune system.
 ...
PMID:HLA class II expression in uninducible hepatocarcinoma cells after transfection of AIR-1 gene product CIITA: acquisition of antigen processing and presentation capacity. 967 Sep 58

Interferon-inducible expression of major histocompatibility class I genes has previously been found to be quantitatively and functionally deficient in neurons compared to other somatic cells or other neural cell types including astrocytes. This deficiency is a key component of neuronal immunoprivilege during viral infections of the CNS. To the contrary, in the present study, induction of functional antiviral state by IFN-beta in neurons compared to astrocytes was found to be highly efficient with respect to both viral replication and protection from cytopathic effects. A candidate antiviral state gene found to be efficiently induced in neurons by IFN-beta was the 2'-5'-oligoadenylate synthetase (OAS) gene. Unlike MHC class I genes, induction of OAS was comparable in neurons and astrocytes indicating differential expression in these neural cell types. Analysis of OAS gene promoter activity indicated that induction of the OAS gene by IFN-beta was dependent on a region containing the interferon stimulated responsive element (ISRE). In contrast, a construct containing the MHC class I-ISRE responsible for induction by IFN-beta in astrocytes was not responsive to IFN-beta in neurons. Therefore, transcription factor binding to the OAS- and MHC-ISREs was analyzed. While the OAS and MHC Class I site bound equal amounts of the transcriptional repressor IRF-2, the OAS-ISRE preferentially interacted with the transcriptional activator ISGF3 in response to IFN-beta. Further, unlike neurons, upregulation of MHC class I genes in astrocytes was related to binding of IRF-1 instead of IRF-2 to the MHC-ISRE. It is proposed that selective activation of anti-viral state genes compared to MHC class I genes by IFN-beta in neurons is mediated by preferential induction and binding of ISGF3 to anti-viral state gene ISREs but not the MHC-ISRE.
 ...
PMID:A mechanism for selective induction of 2'-5' oligoadenylate synthetase, anti-viral state, but not MHC class I genes by interferon-beta in neurons. 1032 80

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I genes are induced synergistically by interferons (IFN) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF), a response thought to involve the cooperative action of Rel/NF-kB and interferon regulatory factor (IRF) transcription factors. The IFN-gamma-inducible class II transcriptional activator (CIITA) has recently been shown to transactivate MHC class I as well as class II genes, and this investigation shows that CIITA synergizes strongly with RelA to stimulate HLA class I expression. The functional interaction of CIITA and RelA requires both promoter elements and the upstream Rel binding site and is not seen with a class II reporter. The promoter elements necessary for CIITA action are also required for induction by IFN-alpha. HLA-A and HLA-B loci respond differentially to IFNs, and we identify locus-specific differences in critical promoter elements in addition to known polymorphisms in the Rel and IRF binding sites. The HLA-A promoter is transactivated relatively poorly by CIITA and does not interact detectably with CREB proteins implicated in CIITA recruitment, but the synergism with RelA can compensate for this weakness. The present findings illustrate that multiple transcription factors cooperate to regulate class I expression and that their relative importance differs according to the locus and cell type examined. (Blood. 2000;95:3804-3808)
 ...
PMID:Synergistic induction of HLA class I expression by RelA and CIITA. 1124 41

There are several reports in the literature focusing on regulation of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I genes by transcription factors of the jun family. The methods employed in these reports differed in various respects, and their results are inconsistent. In mouse Lewis lung carcinoma, B16-melanoma and F9-teratocarcinoma cell lines, c-jun was characterized as a transcriptional activator of the murine MHC class I H2-Kb gene, while c-jun was identified as a direct transcriptional repressor of the swine class I PD1 gene, and c-jun stably transfected clones of mouse L-fibroblasts markedly reduced their H-2 class I gene expression. In this study, we attempted to reproduce this last effect by means of transient transfection coupled to Northern hybridization, upon transfecting L-fibroblasts with expression vectors for all jun family members as well as with an array of c-jun-derived dominant negative mutants. No change in H-2 class I expression could be identified. Next, we derived two additional fibroblastic cell lines from the fibrosarcoma of the H2-Kk/v-jun transgenic mouse and transfected them with the two most potent c-jun dominant negative mutants, again without eliciting any change in H-2 class I mRNA level. We conclude that the negative regulation of H-2 class I genes by c-jun in cells of the fibroblastic lineage is not a primary effect.
 ...
PMID:Jun oncoproteins do not function as primary transcription factors for the mouse major histocompatibility complex class I H-2 genes in fibroblasts. 1291 86


1 2 Next >>