title: The Gfi-1 protooncoprotein represses Bax expression and inhibits T-cell death.
abstract: The Gfi-1 protooncogene encodes a nuclear zinc-finger protein that carries a novel repressor domain, SNAG, and functions as a position- and orientation-independent active transcriptional repressor. The Gfi-1 repressor allows interleukin 2 (IL-2)-dependent T cells to escape G1 arrest induced by IL-2 withdrawal in culture and collaborates with c-myc and pim-1 for the induction of retrovirus-induced lymphomas in animals. Here we show that overexpression of Gfi-1 also inhibits cell death induced by cultivation of IL-2-dependent T-cell lines in IL-2-deficient media. Similarly, induction of Gfi-1 in primary thymocytes from mice carrying a metal-inducible Gfi-1 transgene inhibits cell death induced by cultivation in vitro. The protein and mRNA levels of the proapoptotic regulator Bax are down-regulated by Gfi-1 in both immortalized T-cell lines and primary transgenic thymocytes. The repression is direct and depends on several Gfi-1-binding sites in the p53-inducible Bax promoter. In addition to Bax, Gfi-1 also represses Bak, another apoptosis-promoting member of the Bcl-2 gene family. Therefore, Gfi-1 may inhibit apoptosis by means of its repression of multiple proapoptotic regulators. The antiapoptotic properties of Gfi-1 provide a potential explanation for its strong collaboration with c-myc during oncogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA 19111, USA.
authors.forename: H L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Grimes
authors.forename: C B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Gilks
authors.forename: T O
authors.initials: TO
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Porter
authors.forename: P N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Tsichlis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D002460:Cell Line; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D018014:Gene Transfer Techniques; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000473:pathology*; D014157:Transcription Factors; D051028:bcl-2-Associated X Protein
chemical_list: C494826:BAX protein, human; C494827:Bax protein, mouse; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C498275:GFI1 protein, human; C079873:Gfi1 protein, mouse; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D014157:Transcription Factors; D051028:bcl-2-Associated X Protein