Nuclear oncogenes.

Ample evidence has accumulated in recent years to establish that most, if not all, nuclear proto-oncogenes are in fact sequence-specific DNA-binding proteins that modulate gene expression. Their synthesis or activity is modulated by extracellular signals or by cross talk between different classes of transcription factors.

Elf-1 contributes to the function of the complex interleukin (IL)-2-responsive enhancer in the mouse IL-2 receptor alpha gene.

Lymphocytes regulate their responsiveness to IL-2 through the transcriptional control of the IL-2R alpha gene, which encodes a component of the high affinity IL-2 receptor. In the mouse IL-2R alpha gene this control is exerted via two regulatable elements, a promoter proximal region, and an IL-2-responsive enhancer (IL-2rE) 1.3 kb upstream. In vitro and in vivo functional analysis of the IL-2rE in the rodent thymic lymphoma-derived, CD4- CD8- cell line PC60 demonstrated that three separate elements, sites I, II, and III, were necessary for IL-2 responsiveness; these three sites demonstrate functional cooperation. Site III contains a consensus binding motif for members of the Ets family of transcription factors. Here we demonstrate that Elf-1, an Ets-like protein, binds to site III and participates in IL-2 responsiveness. In vitro site III forms a complex with a protein constitutively present in nuclear extracts from PC60 cells as well as from normal CD4- CD8- thymocytes. We have identified this molecule as Elf-1 according to a number of criteria. The complex possesses an identical electrophoretic mobility to that formed by recombinant Elf-1 protein and is super-shifted by anti-Elf-1 antibodies. Biotinylated IL-2rE probes precipitate Elf-1 from PC60 extracts provided site III is intact and both recombinant and PC60-derived proteins bind with the same relative affinities to different mutants of site III. In addition, by introducing mutations into the core of the site III Ets-like motif and comparing the corresponding effects on the in vitro binding of Elf-1 and the in vivo IL-2rE activity, we provide strong evidence that Elf-1 is directly involved in IL-2 responsiveness. The nature of the functional cooperativity observed between Elf-1 and the factors binding sites I and II remains unresolved; experiments presented here however suggest that this effect may not require direct interactions between the proteins binding these three elements.

A TEL-JAK2 fusion protein with constitutive kinase activity in human leukemia.

The Janus family of tyrosine kinases (JAK) plays an essential role in development and in coupling cytokine receptors to downstream intracellular signaling events. A t(9;12)(p24;p13) chromosomal translocation in a T cell childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia patient was characterized and shown to fuse the 3' portion of JAK2 to the 5' region of TEL, a gene encoding a member of the ETS transcription factor family. The TEL-JAK2 fusion protein includes the catalytic domain of JAK2 and the TEL-specific oligomerization domain. TEL-induced oligomerization of TEL-JAK2 resulted in the constitutive activation of its tyrosine kinase activity and conferred cytokine-independent proliferation to the interleukin-3-dependent Ba/F3 hematopoietic cell line.

Constitutive STAT5 activation specifically cooperates with the loss of p53 function in B-cell lymphomagenesis.

Signal transducers and activator of transcription 5 (STAT5) A and B are transcriptional regulators that play a central role in cytokine signaling in the hematopoietic lineage and which are frequently activated in a persistent manner in human leukemia/lymphoma, as assessed by their constitutive tyrosine phosphorylation and DNA-binding activity. To study the intrinsic oncogenic properties of persistent STAT5 activation, we generated transgenic mice in which a constitutively activated point mutant of STAT5A, STAT5A(S711F), was expressed at physiological level in their lymphoid compartment. In this model, persistent STAT5 activation is weakly oncogenic, leading to the late emergence of clonal B-cell lymphoma/leukemia at a low incidence. In contrast, STAT5(S711F) was found to cooperate with the loss of function of the p53 tumor suppressor gene to both accelerate disease onset and to skew the large tumor spectrum that normally characterize p53-deficient mice to strongly favor B-cell lymphoma/leukemia. The emergence of STAT5A(S711F)-induced B-cell tumors is associated with the activation of STAT5 tyrosine phosphorylation and DNA-binding activity, indicating that activation of STAT5 oncogenic properties in transgenic STAT5A (TgSTAT5A) (S711F) mice involves the deregulation of STAT5 phosphorylation dynamics.

Functional analyses of the TEL-ARNT fusion protein underscores a role for oxygen tension in hematopoietic cellular differentiation.

The transcription factor hypoxia inducible factor 1 (HIF1), an HIF1alpha-aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator (ARNT) dimeric factor, is essential to the cellular response to hypoxia. We described a t(1;12)(q21;p13) chromosomal translocation in human acute myeloblastic leukemia that involves the translocated Ets leukemia (TEL/ETV6) and the ARNT genes and results in the expression of a TEL-ARNT fusion protein. Functional studies show that TEL-ARNT interacts with HIF1alpha and the complex binds to consensus hypoxia response element. In low oxygen tension conditions, the HIF1alpha/TEL-ARNT complex does not activate transcription but exerts a dominant-negative effect on normal HIF1 activity. Differentiation of normal human CD34+ progenitors cells along all the erythrocytic, megakaryocytic and granulocytic pathways was accelerated in low versus high oxygen tension conditions. Murine 32Dcl3 myeloid cells also show accelerated granulocytic differentiation in low oxygen tension in response to granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. Interestingly, stable expression of the TEL-ARNT in 32Dcl3 subclones resulted in impaired HIF1-mediated transcriptional response and inhibition of differentiation enhancement in hypoxic conditions. Taken together, our results underscore the role of oxygen tension in the modulation of normal hematopoietic differentiation, whose targeting can participate in human malignancies.

GATA and Ets cis-acting sequences mediate megakaryocyte-specific expression.

The human glycoprotein IIB (GPIIB) gene is expressed only in megakaryocytes, and its promoter displays cell type specificity. We show that this specificity involved two cis-acting sequences. The first one, located at -55, contains a GATA binding site. Point mutations that abolish protein binding on this site decrease the activity of the GPIIB promoter but do not affect its tissue specificity. The second one, located at -40, contains an Ets consensus sequence, and we show that Ets-1 or Ets-2 protein can interact with this -40 GPIIB sequence. Point mutations that impair Ets binding decrease the activity of the GPIIB promoter to the same extent as do mutations that abolish GATA binding. A GPIIB 40-bp DNA fragment containing the GATA and Ets binding sites can confer activity to a heterologous promoter in megakaryocytic cells. This activity is independent of the GPIIB DNA fragment orientation, and mutations on each binding site result in decreased activity. Using cotransfection assays, we show that c-Ets-1 and human GATA1 can transactive the GPIIB promoter in HeLa cells and can act additively. Northern (RNA) blot analysis indicates that the ets-1 mRNA level is increased during megakaryocyte-induced differentiation of erythrocytic/megakaryocytic cell lines. Gel retardation assays show that the same GATA-Ets association is found in the human GPIIB enhancer and the rat platelet factor 4 promoter, the other two characterized regulatory regions of megakaryocyte-specific genes. These results indicate that GATA and Ets cis-acting sequences are an important determinant of megakaryocytic specific gene expression.

Definition of an Ets1 protein domain required for nuclear localization in cells and DNA-binding activity in vitro.

Ets1 and Ets2 are nuclear phosphoproteins which bind to DNA in vitro and share two domains of strong identity. Deletion analyses of each of these conserved regions in Ets1 demonstrated that integrity of the carboxy-terminal domain, also conserved in the more distantly related elk and erg gene products, is essential for both nuclear targeting and DNA-binding activity in vitro.

Participation of Ets transcription factors in the glucocorticoid response of the rat tyrosine aminotransferase gene.

We have previously shown that two remote glucocorticoid-responsive units (GRUs) of the rat tyrosine aminotransferase (TAT) gene contain multiple binding sites for several transcription factor families, including the glucocorticoid receptor (GR). We report here the identification of two novel binding sites for members of the Ets family of transcription factors in one of these GRUs. One of these binding sites overlaps the major GR-binding site (GRBS), whereas the other is located in its vicinity. Inactivation of the latter binding site leads to a twofold reduction of the glucocorticoid response, whereas inactivation of the site overlapping the GRBS has no detectable effect. In vivo footprinting analysis reveals that the active site is occupied in a glucocorticoid-independent manner, in a TAT-expressing cell line, even though it is located at a position where there is a glucocorticoid-dependent alteration of the nucleosomal structure. This same site is not occupied in a cell line that does not express TAT but expresses Ets-related DNA-binding activities, suggesting the existence of an inhibitory effect of chromatin structure at a hierarchical level above the nucleosome. The inactive Ets-binding site that overlaps the GRBS is not occupied even in TAT-expressing cells. However, this same overlapping site can confer Ets-dependent stimulation of both basal and glucocorticoid-induced levels when it is isolated from the GRU and duplicated. Ets-1 expression in COS cells mimics the activity of the Ets-related activities present in hepatoma cells. These Ets-binding sites could participate in the integration of the glucocorticoid response of the TAT gene with signal transduction pathways triggered by other nonsteroidal extracellular stimuli.

Translocation of a store of maternal cytoplasmic c-myc protein into nuclei during early development.

The c-myc proto-oncogene is expressed as a maternal protein during oogenesis in Xenopus laevis, namely, in nondividing cells. A delayed translation of c-myc mRNA accumulated in early oocytes results in the accumulation of the protein during late oogenesis. The oocyte c-myc protein is unusually stable and is located in the cytoplasm, contrasting with its features in somatic cells. A mature oocyte contains a maternal c-myc protein stockpile of 4 x 10(5) to 6 x 10(5) times the level in a somatic growing cell. This level of c-myc protein is preserved only during the cleavage stage of the embryo. Fertilization triggers its rapid migration into the nuclei of the cleaving embryo and a change in the phosphorylation state of the protein. The c-myc protein content per nucleus decreases exponentially during the cleavage stage until a stoichiometric titration by the embryonic nuclei is reached during a 0.5-h period at the midblastula stage. Most of the maternal c-myc store is degraded by the gastrula stage. These observations implicate the participation of c-myc in the events linked to early embryonic development and the midblastula transition.

Cooperative binding of Ets-1 and core binding factor to DNA.

Two phorbol ester-inducible elements (beta E2 and beta E3) within the human T-cell receptor beta gene enhancer each contain consensus binding sites for the Ets and core binding factor (CBF) transcription factor families. Recombinant Ets-1 and purified CBF bound individually to beta E2 and beta E3, in which the Ets and core sites are directly adjacent. In this report, we show that CBF and Ets-1 bind together to beta E2 and beta E3 and that Ets-1-CBF-DNA complexes are favored over the binding of either protein alone to beta E2. Formation of Ets-1-CBF-DNA complexes increased the affinity of Ets-1-DNA interactions and decreased the rate of dissociation of CBF from DNA. Ets-1-CBF-DNA complexes were not observed when either the Ets or core site was mutated. The spatial requirements for the cooperative interaction of Ets-1 and CBF were analyzed by oligonucleotide mutagenesis and binding site selection experiments. Core and Ets sites were coselected, and there appeared to be little constraint on the relative orientation and spacing of the two sites. These results demonstrate that CBF and Ets-1 form a high-affinity DNA-binding complex when both of their cognate sites are present and that the relative spacing and orientation of the two sites are unimportant. Ets and core sites are found in several T-cell-specific enhancers, suggesting that this interaction is of general importance in T-cell-specific transcription.

Characterization of Spi-B, a transcription factor related to the putative oncoprotein Spi-1/PU.1.

We have cloned a human cDNA from a new gene, spi-B, on the basis of its homology with the DNA-binding domain of the Spi-1/PU.1 putative oncogene product. spi-B codes for a protein of 262 amino acids presenting 43% overall identity with Spi-1. Its highly basic carboxy-terminal region exhibits 34% sequence identity with the DNA-binding domain of the Ets-1 protein. We showed that the Spi-B protein is able to bind the purine-rich sequence (PU box) recognized by Spi-1/PU.1 and to activate transcription of a reporter plasmid containing PU boxes. Chromosome in situ hybridization allowed us to map spi-B to the 19q13.3-19q13.4 region of the human genome. spi-B, like spi-1, was found to be expressed in various murine and human hematopoietic cell lines except T lymphoid cell lines.

Multiple domains for the chicken cellular sequences homologous to the v-ets oncogene of the E26 retrovirus.

We have investigated the structure of chicken genomic DNA homologous to v-ets, the second cell-derived oncogene of avian retrovirus E26. We isolated a c-ets locus spanning ca. 30.0 kilobase pairs (kbp) in the chicken genome with homologies to 1,202 nucleotides (nt) of v-ets (total length, 1,508 nt) distributed in six clusters along 18.0 kbp of the cloned DNA. The 5'-distal part of v-ets (224 nt) was homologous to chicken cellular sequences contained upstream within a single 16.0-kbp EcoRI fragment as two typical exons but not found transcribed into the major 7.5-kb c-ets (or 4.0-kb c-myb) RNA species. Between these two v-ets-related cellular sequences we found ca 40.0 kbp of v-ets-unrelated DNA. Finally, the most 3' region of homology to v-ets in the cloned DNA was shown to consist of a truncated exon lacking the nucleotides coding for the 16 carboxy-terminal amino acids of the viral protein but colinear to one of the two human c-ets loci, c-ets-2.

DNA-binding and transcriptional activation properties of the EWS-FLI-1 fusion protein resulting from the t(11;22) translocation in Ewing sarcoma.

The 5' half of the EWS gene has recently been described to be fused to the 3' regions of genes encoding the DNA-binding domain of several transcriptional regulators, including ATF1, FLI-1, and ERG, in several human tumors. The most frequent occurrence of this situation results from the t(11;22)(q24;q12) chromosome translocation specific for Ewing sarcoma (ES) and related tumors which joins EWS sequences to the 3' half of FLI-1, which encodes a member of the Ets family of transcriptional regulators. We show here that this chimeric gene encodes an EWS-FLI-1 nuclear protein which binds DNA with the same sequence specificity as the wild-type parental FLI-1 protein. We further show that EWS-FLI-1 is an efficient sequence-specific transcriptional activator of model promoters containing FLI-1 (Ets)-binding sites, a property which is strictly dependent on the presence of its EWS domain. Comparison of the properties of the N-terminal activation domain of FLI-1 to those of the EWS domain of the fusion protein indicates that EWS-FLI-1 has altered transcriptional activation properties compared with FLI-1. These results suggest that EWS-FLI-1 contributes to the transformed phenotype of ES tumor cells by inducing the deregulated and/or unscheduled activation of genes normally responsive to FLI-1 or to other close members of the Ets family. ES and related tumors are characterized by an elevated level of c-myc expression. We show that EWS-FLI-1 is a transactivator of the c-myc promoter, suggesting that upregulation of c-myc expression is under control of EWS-FLI-1.

Humoral antibody response to bovine leukemia virus infection in cattle and sheep.

In this study, 345 cattle from 7 herds with a history of lymphosarcoma were tested for antibody to BLV antigens by three serological methods, namely immunodiffusion using a bovine leukemia virus glycoprotein with a molecular weight of 60,000 as antigen, and radioimmunoassay using a bovine leukemia virus glycoprotein with a molecular weight of 60,000 and a bovine leukemia virus protein with a molecular weight of 24,000 as antigen. The three tests under comparison agreed for 335 animals, 240 being negative in the three tests, and 95 being positive. Results were variable in ten cases only. Glycoprotein with a molecular weight of 60,000 antibody titers were systematically higher than were protein with a molecular weight of 24,000 antibody titers in bovine sera and milk, as well as in sera of experimentally infected sheep. In the latter case, antibodies to bovine leukemia virus antigens reached maximal values at the animal death in the tumor phase of the disease. Ratios of serum antiglycoprotein titer to milk titer varied between 4 and 117, showing that, if milk pools are to be used in surveys of bovine leukemia virus infection, use of very sensitive techniques of detection is mandatory.

Bovine leukemia virus, a versatile agent with various pathogenic effects in various animal species.

The bovine leukemia virus is the etiological agent of a chronic lymphatic leukemia in cows, sheep, and goats. The same virus seems to induce a kind of wasting disease in experimentally infected rabbits. Antibodies to highly purified bovine leukemia viral Mr 51,000 glycoprotein and Mr 24,000 protein cross-react with human T-lymphotropic virus III/lymphadenopathy-associated virus antigens present in cultured lymphocytes of African patients suffering from acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Bovine leukemia virus has many structural and functional characteristics in common with the human T-lymphotropic viruses. The most striking feature of these retroviruses is the existence of a long open reading frame located at the 3' side of the provirus between the right end of the 3' side of env gene and the left end of the long terminal repeat. It is believed that the long open reading frame protein product acts in trans upon a number of genes to account for the biological effects of the virus.

Proteins of the ETS family with transcriptional repressor activity.

ETS proteins form one of the largest families of signal-dependent transcriptional regulators, mediating cellular proliferation, differentiation and tumorigenesis. Most of the known ETS proteins have been shown to activate transcription. However, four ETS proteins (YAN, ERF, NET and TEL) can act as transcriptional repressors. In three cases (ERF, NET and TEL) distinct repression domains have been identified and there are indications that NET and TEL may mediate transcription via Histone Deacetylase recruitment. All four proteins appear to be regulated by MAPKs, though for YAN and ERF this regulation seems to be restricted to ERKs. YAN, ERF and TEL have been implicated in cellular proliferation although there are indications suggesting a possible involvement of YAN and TEL in differentiation as well. Other ETS-domain proteins have been shown to repress transcription in a context specific manner, and there are suggestions that the ETS DNA-binding domain may act as a transcriptional repressor. Transcriptional repression by ETS domain proteins adds an other level in the orchestrated regulation by this diverse family of transcription factors that often recognize similar if not identical binding sites on DNA and are believed to regulate critical genes in a variety of biological processes. Definitive assessment of the importance of this novel regulatory level will require the identification of ETS proteins target genes and the further analysis of transcriptional control and biological function of these proteins in defined pathways.

The c-erbA alpha-encoded thyroid hormone receptor is phosphorylated in its amino terminal domain by casein kinase II.

The c-erbA alpha progenitor of the v-erbA oncogene of avian erythroblastosis virus (AEV) encodes a nuclear receptor for the thyroid hormone triiodothyronine (T3) which acts as a ligand-dependent transcription factor. As previously reported (Goldberg et al., EMBO J., 7, 2425-2433), the 46 kd chicken c-erbA alpha-encoded T3 receptor (ck-ErbA alpha) is phosphorylated at two major sites. Only one of these sites (Ser28/Ser29) is retained in the v-erbA-encoded P75gag-v-erbA protein. We report here the identification of the second phosphorylation site of ck-ErbA alpha as a single serine residue localized at position 12. We propose that casein kinase II, a protein kinase distributed in the cytosolic and nuclear compartments of a number of different tissues, is responsible for serine 12 phosphorylation on the following grounds. First, serine 12 is part of a sequence containing multiple acidic amino-acids, a feature common to all sites phosphorylated by casein kinase II in physiological substrates. Second, ck-ErbA alpha was found to be phosphorylated by purified casein kinase II in vitro at the same site, as defined by two-dimensional mapping experiments, as that observed in vivo. Third, conversion of serine 12 into an unphosphorylatable alanine residue by site directed mutagenesis abolishes the phosphorylation of ck-ErbA alpha by casein kinase II in vitro. Phosphorylation of serine 12 is likely to play a role in the modulation of ErbA alpha function since both serine 12 and the casein kinase II phosphorylation sequence motif are phylogenetically conserved in all known members of the c-erbA alpha gene family encoding T3 binding proteins. The codon specifying serine 12 in ck-ErbA alpha being precisely the point where recombination between gag and ck-c-erbA alpha occurred to generate v-erbA, our results furthermore suggest that deletion of serine 12 could contribute to the oncogenic activation of v-erbA.

c-ErbA, but not v-ErbA, competes with a putative erythroid repressor for binding to the carbonic anhydrase II promoter.

The carbonic anhydrase II (CAII) gene is the only known gene identified as direct target for v-ErbA-mediated repression in avian erythroleukemic cells transformed by Avian Erythroblastosis Virus (AEV). This gene is transcriptionally activated by thyroid hormone (T3) in normal erythrocytic cells. In this work we have analysed the molecular basis of the transcriptional control of the CAII gene by c-ErbA and v-ErbA. We show that several domains in the promoter control hormonal regulation of transcription. One domain proximal to the TATA box mediates T3 response but contains no identified binding site for c-ErbA. An other domain termed PAL2 is approximately 600 bp upstream the transcription initiation site and contains a c-ErbA binding site. We show that when it is associated to a heterologous promoter this site mediates transcriptional repression in erythrocytic cells but not in HeLa cells. Moreover, this site binds a nuclear erythrocyte-specific factor that we called NFX, which is different from c-ErbA. heterodimers between c-ErbA and the 9-cis retinoic acid receptor (RXR) compete with NFX for binding to PAL2. In contrast, v-ErbA alone or in association with RXR is a very poor competitor and is unable to chase NFX out of the PAL2 site. We propose that NFX is a transcription repressor whose activity is inhibited by c-ErbA but not v-ErbA. This mechanism might contribute to the overall regulation of the carbonic anhydrase II promoter. These data illustrate another possible mechanism through which v-ErbA might antagonize the function of c-ErbA in controlling gene expression.

The c-ets-1 protein is chromatin associated and binds to DNA in vitro.

The c-ets-1 proto-oncogene is expressed at high levels in proliferating lymphoid cells. We show here that the chicken and murine c-ets-1 proteins are predominantly localized in the cell nucleus. Over 90% of the c-ets-1 protein can be released from isolated thymocyte nuclei by treatment with low salt buffer. Release from nuclei is also observed after treatment with micrococcal nuclease, but not with RNaseA, in conditions where digestion of only a minor fraction of chromatin occurs. c-ets-1 proteins exhibit DNA binding activity, suggesting that the association to chromatin is mediated at least in part by their association to DNA. We previously showed that mitogenic stimulation of thymocytes is accompanied by the rapid calcium-dependent phosphorylation of c-ets-1 proteins. We demonstrate here that these phosphorylation events abolish the ability of c-ets-1 proteins to bind to DNA in vitro and reduce their affinity for chromatin, lending further support to the importance of these modifications in the regulation of c-ets-1 protein function.

SPI-1 transforming properties depend upon specifically activated forms of the EPOR.

Friend erythroleukemia induced in mice by the spleen focus forming virus (SFFV) is a multi-step process. The pre-leukemic phase of the disease results from the abnormal activation of the Erythropoietin (Epo) receptor by the gp55 env gene product of SFFV. Later in disease progression, the emergence of leukemic clones is associated with recurrent genetic events, in particular the activation of the expression of SPI-1, an ETS family transcriptional regulator. We show here that the expression of either SPI-1 or GP55 with the mouse EPOR in avian primary erythroblasts only marginally affects their normal Epo-induced terminal differentiation. In contrast, the co-expression of GP55 and SPI-1 resulted in inhibition of Epo-induced differentiation of EPOR-expressing erythroblasts, promoting instead their proliferation. Co-expression of SPI-1 and GP55 also inhibited the apoptotic cell death program normally induced in response to Epo withdrawal. This cooperation between SPI-1 and GP55 to induce primary erythroblast transformation suggests that progression of Friend erythroleukemia critically depends upon inter-dependent interactions between the molecular events specific of the early and late phase of the disease.