title: The T alpha 2 nuclear protein binding site from the human T cell receptor alpha enhancer functions as both a T cell-specific transcriptional activator and repressor.
abstract: T cell-specific expression of the human T cell receptor alpha (TCR-alpha) gene is regulated by the interaction of variable region promoter elements with a transcriptional enhancer that is located 4.5 kb 3' of the TCR-alpha constant region (C alpha) gene segment. The minimal TCR-alpha enhancer is composed of two nuclear protein binding sites, T alpha 1 and T alpha 2, that are both required for the T cell-specific activity of the enhancer. The T alpha 1 binding site contains a consensus cAMP response element (CRE), and binds a set of ubiquitous nuclear proteins. The T alpha 2 binding site does not contain known transcriptional enhancer motifs. However, it binds at least two nuclear protein complexes, one of which is T cell specific. We now report that although the T alpha 2 nuclear protein binding site displays transcriptional activator activity in the context of the TCR-alpha enhancer, this site alone can function as a potent, T cell-specific transcriptional repressor when positioned either upstream, or downstream of several heterologous promoter and enhancer elements. These results demonstrate that a single nuclear protein binding site can function as a T cell-specific transcriptional activator or repressor element, depending upon the context in which it is located.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor 48109.
authors.forename: I C
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Leiden
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites / Q000502:physiology; D002460:Cell Line; D004742:Enhancer Elements, Genetic / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D005809:Genes, Regulator / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D015464:Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive / Q000473:pathology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D011485:Protein Binding; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell