title: Nuclear factor kappa B activates proenkephalin transcription in T lymphocytes.
abstract: Upon activation, T lymphocytes accumulate high levels of the neuropeptide enkephalin which correlate with high levels of proenkephalin mRNA in the cells. Here we investigated the transcriptional basis for these changes. The proenkephalin promoter contains a sequence GGGGACGTCCCC, named B2, which is similar to the kappa B sequence GGGGACTTTCC, the binding site of the transcription factor nuclear factor (NF)-kappa B. Activation of T lymphocytes induces an NF-kappa B-like binding activity to the B2 site, concomitant with activation of the proenkephalin promoter. Mutations at the B2 site abolish this transcriptional activation. The purified homodimer (two p50s) of the DNA-binding subunit of NF-kappa B binds the B2 site of proenkephalin relatively better than does the heterotetramer (two p65s plus two p50s) form of the factor. Thus, it appears that the T-cell-specific activation of the proenkephalin promoter is mediated by NF-kappa B. However, as NF-kappa B is ubiquitous and the transcriptional activation through the B2 site is T cell specific, yet another T-cell-specific factor which synergizes with NF-kappa B should be considered.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hormone Research, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rattner
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Korner
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rosen
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Baeuerle
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Citri
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D002460:Cell Line; D004745:Enkephalins / Q000235:genetics*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000378:metabolism*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000235:genetics*; D051381:Rats; D013601:T-Lymphocytes; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D004745:Enkephalins; D016328:NF-kappa B; D011498:Protein Precursors; C029992:proenkephalin