title: Function of GATA transcription factors in hydroxyurea-induced HEL cells.
abstract: HEL cells, a human erythroleukemia cell line, mainly express the fetal (gamma) globin gene and trace amount of the embryonic (epsilon) globin gene, but not adult (beta) globin gene. Here we show that hydroxyurea (HU) can induce HEL cells to express adult (beta) globin gene and lead these cells to terminal differentiation. Results showed in Gel mobility shift assays that GATA factors could specifically bind to the regulatory elements of human beta-globin gene, including the proximal regulatory element (the beta-promoter) and the distal regulatory elements (the DNase I hypersensitive sites in the LCR, HS2-HS4 core sequences). However, the DNA binding patterns of GATA factors were quite different between HU-induced and uninduced HEL cells. Western-blot analysis of nuclear extracts from both the uninduced and HU-induced HEL cells revealed that the level of GATA-2 transcription factor decreased, whereas the level of GATA-1 transcription factor increased following the time of hydroxyurea induction. Furthermore, using RT-PCR analysis the expression of human beta-globin gene in HU-induced HEL cells could be blocked again when HEL cells were incubated in the presence of antisense oligonucleotides for hGATA-1, suggesting that the upregulation of hGATA-1 transcription factor might be critical for the expression of human beta-globin gene in HU-induced HEL cells.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
authors.forename: S B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Q Y
authors.initials: QY
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: C Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Gui
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Qian
mesh_terms: D002454:Cell Differentiation; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D050981:Erythroid-Specific DNA-Binding Factors; D050982:GATA1 Transcription Factor; D050989:GATA2 Transcription Factor; D005914:Globins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D006918:Hydroxyurea / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004915:Leukemia, Erythroblastic, Acute; D019901:Locus Control Region; D008958:Models, Molecular; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000502:physiology*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D050981:Erythroid-Specific DNA-Binding Factors; D050982:GATA1 Transcription Factor; C494688:GATA1 protein, human; D050989:GATA2 Transcription Factor; C494711:GATA2 protein, human; D014157:Transcription Factors; D005914:Globins; D006918:Hydroxyurea