title: The immunoglobulin heavy chain VH6-1 promoter regulates Ig transcription in non-B cells.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Non-B cell immunoglobulins (Igs) are widely expressed in epithelial cancer cells. The past 20 years of research have demonstrated that non-B cell Igs are associated with cancer cell proliferation, the cellular cytoskeleton and cancer stem cells. In this study we explored the transcriptional mechanism of IgM production in non-B cells.
  
  
  METHODS
  The promoter region of a V-segment of the heavy mu chain gene (VH6-1) was cloned from a colon cancer cell line HT-29. Next, the promoter activities in non-B cells and B-cells were detected using the dual-luciferase reporter assay. Then the transcription factor binding to the promoter regions was evaluated by electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs) and gel supershift experiments.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our data showed that the sequence 1200 bp upstream of VH6-1 exhibited promoter activity in both B and non-B cells. No new regulatory elements were identified within the region 1200 bp to 300 bp upstream of VH6-1. In addition, Oct-1 was found to bind to the octamer element of the Ig gene promoter in cancer cells, in contrast to B cells, which utilize the transcriptional factor Oct-2.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The regulatory mechanisms among different cell types controlling the production of IgM heavy chains are worth discussing.
authors.affiliation: Key laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Central Laboratory, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, 100142 China.
authors.forename: Lina
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Peking University Center for Human Disease Genomics, Beijing, 100038 China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Peking University Center for Human Disease Genomics, Beijing, 100038 China.
authors.forename: Xiaohui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Peking University Center for Human Disease Genomics, Beijing, 100038 China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Department of Thoracic Surgery II, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, 100142 China.
authors.forename: Jinfeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Key laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Central Laboratory, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, 100142 China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Peking University Center for Human Disease Genomics, Beijing, 100038 China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.affiliation: Peking University Center for Human Disease Genomics, Beijing, 100038 China.
authors.forename: Shuai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Peking University Center for Human Disease Genomics, Beijing, 100038 China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Peking University Center for Human Disease Genomics, Beijing, 100038 China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Peking University Center for Human Disease Genomics, Beijing, 100038 China.
authors.forename: Yingmei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Cancer Institute, Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100021 China.
authors.forename: Youhui
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Peking University Center for Human Disease Genomics, Beijing, 100038 China.
authors.forename: Xiaoyan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Qiu
keywords: Non-B cells; Oct-1; Promoter activity; Transcriptional regulation; VH6-1