title: Krüppel-like factor 2, a novel immediate-early transcriptional factor, regulates IL-2 expression in T lymphocyte activation.
abstract: Ag presentation to T lymphocytes and subsequent activation are characterized by a cascade of signaling events, some of which result in the transcriptional activation of a diverse set of genes. An important example is the induction of the IL-2 gene, which is a critical event in the escalation of T cell activation. Previous studies have found that expression of Krüppel-like factor 2 (KLF2), a zinc finger transcription factor, is extinguished after T cell activation. However, the biological role of KLF2 during T cell activation is still unknown. In this study we found that KLF2 protein degradation is delayed, and KLF2 expression is up-regulated during the early stage of T cell activation in primary T cells. Within a few hours, this process is reversed, and KLF2 expression is turned off. Next, we found that the expression of KLF2 significantly increases IL-2 production 4-fold in activated T cells, resulting from activation of the IL-2 promoter. By narrowing down the 2.0-kb IL-2 promoter region, we found that the KLF2 responsive element in the IL-2 promoter is a CACCC element, the KLF consensus binding motif. Moreover, KLF2 binds to this promoter in vivo under different conditions. Our studies show that KLF2 regulates IL-2 promoter activity in the earliest stages of T cell activation, indicating that KLF2 may act as a novel immediate-early transcriptional factor to maximally prime T cell activation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Genetics, Biochemistry, and Microbiology, University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45267, USA.
authors.forename: Jinghai
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Jerry B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Lingrel
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D004247:DNA / Q000096:biosynthesis; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000235:genetics*; D019169:Jurkat Cells; D051741:Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000378:metabolism; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D020218:Response Elements / Q000502:physiology; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D007376:Interleukin-2; C096161:KLF2 protein, human; D051741:Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors; D016328:NF-kappa B; D015534:Trans-Activators; D004247:DNA