title: Transcription factor IRF-2 exerts its oncogenic phenotype through the DNA binding/transcription repression domain.
abstract: The Interferon Regulatory Factors-1 and -2 (IRF-1 and IRF-2) play a transcriptional role in the regulation of the IFN-beta gene as well as other immunoregulatory genes. IRF-1 serves as a transcriptional activator whereas IRF-2 acts as an antagonistic transcriptional repressor. IRF-1 and IRF-2 also play opposing functional roles in cell growth regulation, and are implicated as a potential antioncogene and oncogene, respectively. To analyse the relationship between DNA binding/transcriptional repression and oncogenic transformation, NIH3T3 cells expressing C-terminal deletions of IRF-2 were established and assayed for transformation by saturation density analysis, anchorage independent growth in soft agar and tumor formation in nude mice. Cells expressing an IRF-2 protein of at least 160 N-terminal amino acids were transformed in vitro and tumorigenic in vivo, thus mapping IRF-2 oncogenic activity to its DNA binding/transcriptional repression domain. Overexpression of wild-type and truncated IRF-2 proteins resulted in reduced IFN-beta mRNA levels following induction by dsRNA. However, there was no effect of IRF-2 on IFN-beta inducibility by Sendai virus infection, suggesting the involvement of multiple IFN-beta induction pathways. In DNA binding assays, recombinant IRF-2 was found to preferentially bind to the IFN-beta PRDI site compared to IRF-1. These studies indicate that the transformed phenotype resulting from overexpression of IRF-2 may be due to constitutive engagement of the IRF-E recognition site, thus preventing DNA binding and transactivation of putative tumor suppressor genes by the IRF-1 anti-oncogene.
authors.affiliation: Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Sir Mortimer B Davis Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mustafa
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hiscott
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D016475:3T3 Cells; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D001667:Binding, Competitive; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D050856:Interferon Regulatory Factor-1; D050836:Interferon Regulatory Factor-2; D016899:Interferon-beta / Q000235:genetics; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009374:Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000235:genetics*; D010750:Phosphoproteins / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D017384:Sequence Deletion; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C494257:IRF1 protein, human; C494229:IRF2 protein, human; D050856:Interferon Regulatory Factor-1; D050836:Interferon Regulatory Factor-2; C494258:Irf1 protein, mouse; C494230:Irf2 protein, mouse; D010750:Phosphoproteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D016899:Interferon-beta