scholarly journals The IRF-3 Transcription Factor Mediates Sendai Virus-Induced Apoptosis

2000 ◽  
Vol 74 (8) ◽  
pp. 3781-3792 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christophe Heylbroeck ◽  
Siddharth Balachandran ◽  
Marc J. Servant ◽  
Carmela DeLuca ◽  
Glen N. Barber ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Virus infection of target cells can result in different biological outcomes: lytic infection, cellular transformation, or cell death by apoptosis. Cells respond to virus infection by the activation of specific transcription factors involved in cytokine gene regulation and cell growth control. The ubiquitously expressed interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF-3) transcription factor is directly activated following virus infection through posttranslational modification. Phosphorylation of specific C-terminal serine residues results in IRF-3 dimerization, nuclear translocation, and activation of DNA-binding and transactivation potential. Once activated, IRF-3 transcriptionally up regulates alpha/beta interferon genes, the chemokine RANTES, and potentially other genes that inhibit viral infection. We previously generated constitutively active [IRF-3(5D)] and dominant negative (IRF-3 ΔN) forms of IRF-3 that control target gene expression. In an effort to characterize the growth regulatory properties of IRF-3, we observed that IRF-3 is a mediator of paramyxovirus-induced apoptosis. Expression of the constitutively active form of IRF-3 is toxic, preventing the establishment of stably transfected cells. By using a tetracycline-inducible system, we show that induction of IRF-3(5D) alone is sufficient to induce apoptosis in human embryonic kidney 293 and human Jurkat T cells as measured by DNA laddering, terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling assay, and analysis of DNA content by flow cytometry. Wild-type IRF-3 expression augments paramyxovirus-induced apoptosis, while expression of IRF-3 ΔN blocks virus-induced apoptosis. In addition, we demonstrate an important role of caspases 8, 9, and 3 in IRF-3-induced apoptosis. These results suggest that IRF-3, in addition to potently activating cytokine genes, regulates apoptotic signalling following virus infection.

1998 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 2986-2996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rongtuan Lin ◽  
Christophe Heylbroeck ◽  
Paula M. Pitha ◽  
John Hiscott

ABSTRACT The interferon regulatory factors (IRF) consist of a growing family of related transcription proteins first identified as regulators of the alpha beta interferon (IFN-α/β) gene promoters, as well as the interferon-stimulated response element (ISRE) of some IFN-stimulated genes. IRF-3 was originally identified as a member of the IRF family based on homology with other IRF family members and on binding to the ISRE of the ISG15 promoter. IRF-3 is expressed constitutively in a variety of tissues, and the relative levels of IRF-3 mRNA do not change in virus-infected or IFN-treated cells. In the present study, we demonstrate that following Sendai virus infection, IRF-3 is posttranslationally modified by protein phosphorylation at multiple serine and threonine residues, which are located in the carboxy terminus of IRF-3. A combination of IRF-3 deletion and point mutations localized the inducible phosphorylation sites to the region -ISNSHPLSLTSDQ- between amino acids 395 and 407; point mutation of residues Ser-396 and Ser-398 eliminated virus-induced phosphorylation of IRF-3 protein, although residues Ser-402, Thr-404, and Ser-405 were also targets. Phosphorylation results in the cytoplasm-to-nucleus translocation of IRF-3, DNA binding, and increased transcriptional activation. Substitution of the Ser-Thr sites with the phosphomimetic Asp generated a constitutively active form of IRF-3 that functioned as a very strong activator of promoters containing PRDI-PRDIII or ISRE regulatory elements. Phosphorylation also appears to represent a signal for virus-mediated degradation, since the virus-induced turnover of IRF-3 was prevented by mutation of the IRF-3 Ser-Thr cluster or by proteasome inhibitors. Interestingly, virus infection resulted in the association of IRF-3 with the CREB binding protein (CBP) coactivator, as detected by coimmunoprecipitation with anti-CBP antibody, an interaction mediated by the C-terminal domains of both proteins. Mutation of residues Ser-396 and Ser-398 in IRF-3 abrogated its binding to CBP. These results are discussed in terms of a model in which virus-inducible, C-terminal phosphorylation of IRF-3 alters protein conformation to permit nuclear translocation, association with transcriptional partners, and primary activation of IFN- and IFN-responsive genes.


2000 ◽  
Vol 74 (7) ◽  
pp. 2981-2989 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jodi L. Connolly ◽  
Steven E. Rodgers ◽  
Penny Clarke ◽  
Dean W. Ballard ◽  
Lawrence D. Kerr ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Reovirus infection induces apoptosis in cultured cells and in vivo. To identify host cell factors that mediate this response, we investigated whether reovirus infection alters the activation state of the transcription factor nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB). As determined in electrophoretic mobility shift assays, reovirus infection of HeLa cells leads to nuclear translocation of NF-κB complexes containing Rel family members p50 and p65. Reovirus-induced activation of NF-κB DNA-binding activity correlated with the onset of NF-κB-directed transcription in reporter gene assays. Three independent lines of evidence indicate that this functional form of NF-κB is required for reovirus-induced apoptosis. First, treatment of reovirus-infected HeLa cells with a proteasome inhibitor prevents NF-κB activation following infection and substantially diminishes reovirus-induced apoptosis. Second, transient expression of a dominant-negative form of IκB that constitutively represses NF-κB activation significantly reduces levels of apoptosis triggered by reovirus infection. Third, mutant cell lines deficient for either the p50 or p65 subunits of NF-κB are resistant to reovirus-induced apoptosis compared with cells expressing an intact NF-κB signaling pathway. These findings indicate that NF-κB plays a significant role in the mechanism by which reovirus induces apoptosis in susceptible host cells.


2000 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 1513-1523 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siddharth Balachandran ◽  
P. Christopher Roberts ◽  
Todd Kipperman ◽  
Kapil N. Bhalla ◽  
Richard W. Compans ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Interferon (IFN) mediates its antiviral effects by inducing a number of responsive genes, including the double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-dependent protein kinase, PKR. Here we report that inducible overexpression of functional PKR in murine fibroblasts sensitized cells to apoptosis induced by influenza virus, while in contrast, cells expressing a dominant-negative variant of PKR were completely resistant. We determined that the mechanism of influenza virus-induced apoptosis involved death signaling through FADD/caspase-8 activation, while other viruses such as vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) and Sindbis virus (SNV) did not significantly provoke PKR-mediated apoptosis but did induce cytolysis of fibroblasts via activation of caspase-9. Significantly, treatment with IFN-α/β greatly sensitized the fibroblasts to FADD-dependent apoptosis in response to dsRNA treatment or influenza virus infection but completely protected the cells against VSV and SNV replication in the absence of any cellular destruction. The mechanism by which IFN increases the cells' susceptibility to lysis by dsRNA or certain virus infection is by priming cells to FADD-dependent apoptosis, possibly by regulating the activity of the death-induced signaling complex (DISC). Conversely, IFN is also able to prevent the replication of viruses such as VSV that avoid triggering FADD-mediated DISC activity, by noncytopathic mechanisms, thus preventing destruction of the cell.


2003 ◽  
Vol 77 (14) ◽  
pp. 7945-7956 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher F. Basler ◽  
Andrea Mikulasova ◽  
Luis Martinez-Sobrido ◽  
Jason Paragas ◽  
Elke Mühlberger ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The Ebola virus VP35 protein was previously found to act as an interferon (IFN) antagonist which could complement growth of influenza delNS1 virus, a mutant influenza virus lacking the influenza virus IFN antagonist protein, NS1. The Ebola virus VP35 could also prevent the virus- or double-stranded RNA-mediated transcriptional activation of both the beta IFN (IFN-β) promoter and the IFN-stimulated ISG54 promoter (C. Basler et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 97:12289-12294, 2000). We now show that VP35 inhibits virus infection-induced transcriptional activation of IFN regulatory factor 3 (IRF-3)-responsive mammalian promoters and that VP35 does not block signaling from the IFN-α/β receptor. The ability of VP35 to inhibit this virus-induced transcription correlates with its ability to block activation of IRF-3, a cellular transcription factor of central importance in initiating the host cell IFN response. We demonstrate that VP35 blocks the Sendai virus-induced activation of two promoters which can be directly activated by IRF-3, namely, the ISG54 promoter and the ISG56 promoter. Further, expression of VP35 prevents the IRF-3-dependent activation of the IFN-α4 promoter in response to viral infection. The inhibition of IRF-3 appears to occur through an inhibition of IRF-3 phosphorylation. VP35 blocks virus-induced IRF-3 phosphorylation and subsequent IRF-3 dimerization and nuclear translocation. Consistent with these observations, Ebola virus infection of Vero cells activated neither transcription from the ISG54 promoter nor nuclear accumulation of IRF-3. These data suggest that in Ebola virus-infected cells, VP35 inhibits the induction of antiviral genes, including the IFN-β gene, by blocking IRF-3 activation.


1999 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 2300-2307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chi-Wing Chow ◽  
Mercedes Rincón ◽  
Roger J. Davis

ABSTRACT The nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) transcription factor is implicated in expression of the cytokine interleukin-2 (IL-2). Binding sites for NFAT are located in the IL-2 promoter. Furthermore, pharmacological studies demonstrate that the drug cyclosporin A inhibits both NFAT activation and IL-2 expression. However, targeted disruption of the NFAT1 and NFAT2 genes in mice does not cause decreased IL-2 secretion. The role of NFAT in IL-2 gene expression is therefore unclear. Here we report the construction of a dominant-negative NFAT mutant (dnNFAT) that selectively inhibits NFAT-mediated gene expression. The inhibitory effect of dnNFAT is mediated by suppression of activation-induced nuclear translocation of NFAT. Expression of dnNFAT in cultured T cells caused inhibition of IL-2 promoter activity and decreased expression of IL-2 protein. Similarly, expression of dnNFAT in transgenic mice also caused decreased IL-2 gene expression. These data demonstrate that NFAT is a critical component of the signaling pathway that regulates IL-2 expression.


2000 ◽  
Vol 20 (12) ◽  
pp. 4265-4274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Lasa ◽  
Kamal R. Mahtani ◽  
Andrew Finch ◽  
Gary Brewer ◽  
Jeremy Saklatvala ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT A tetracycline-regulated reporter system was used to investigate the regulation of cyclooxygenase 2 (Cox-2) mRNA stability by the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) p38 signaling cascade. The stable β-globin mRNA was rendered unstable by insertion of the 2,500-nucleotide Cox-2 3′ untranslated region (3′ UTR). The chimeric transcript was stabilized by a constitutively active form of MAPK kinase 6, an activator of p38. This stabilization was blocked by SB203580, an inhibitor of p38, and by two different dominant negative forms of MAPK-activated protein kinase 2 (MAPKAPK-2), a kinase lying downstream of p38. Constitutively active MAPKAPK-2 was also able to stabilize chimeric β-globin–Cox-2 transcripts. The MAPKAPK-2 substrate hsp27 may be involved in stabilization, as β-globin–Cox-2 transcripts were partially stabilized by phosphomimetic mutant forms of hsp27. A short (123-nucleotide) fragment of the Cox-2 3′ UTR was necessary and sufficient for the regulation of mRNA stability by the p38 cascade and interacted with a HeLa protein immunologically related to AU-rich element/poly(U) binding factor 1.


2004 ◽  
Vol 381 (2) ◽  
pp. 397-403 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felicity J. ASHCROFT ◽  
Andrea VARRO ◽  
Rod DIMALINE ◽  
Graham J. DOCKRAY

The expression of members of the Reg family of secreted lectin-like proteins is increased in response to stress, inflammation and damage in many tissues. In the stomach, Reg is located in enterochromaffin-like cells, where its expression is stimulated by the gastric hormone gastrin. We have examined the mechanisms by which gastrin stimulates expression of Reg-1. Deletional mutations of 2.1 to 0.1 kb of the rat Reg-1 promoter in a luciferase reporter vector were transiently transfected into gastric cancer AGS-GR cells. All promoter fragments tested showed similar relative increases in luciferase expression in response to gastrin (1 nM). The response to gastrin of the smallest (104 bp) construct was 4.2±0.4-fold over basal. These responses were reduced by Ro-32-0432, a protein kinase C inhibitor, by C3-transferase, a Clostridium botulinum toxin and a selective inhibitor of the Rho family GTPase RhoA, and by co-transfection with a dominant negative form of RhoA. Co-transfection with a constitutively active form of RhoA stimulated expression 11.6±1.7-fold over basal. Mutations through the 104 bp construct identified a C-rich element (C−79CCCTCCC−72) required for responses to gastrin, PKC (protein kinase C) and L63RhoA (the constitutively active form of human RhoA protein containing a glutamine-to-leucine substitution at position 63). EMSAs (electrophoretic-mobility-shift assays) using nuclear extracts of control and gastrin-stimulated AGS-GR cells and a probe spanning −86 to −64 bp revealed multiple binding proteins. There was no effect of gastrin on the pattern of binding. Supershift assays indicated that transcription factors Sp1 and Sp3 bound the C-rich sequence. We conclude that gastrin stimulates Reg expression via activation of PKC and RhoA, that a C-rich region (−79 to −72) is critical for the response and that Sp-family transcription factors bind to this region of the promoter.


2013 ◽  
Vol 305 (1) ◽  
pp. F100-F110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yun-Hee Choi ◽  
Brian T. McNally ◽  
Peter Igarashi

Hepatocyte nuclear factor-1β (HNF-1β) is an epithelial tissue-specific transcription factor that regulates gene expression in the kidney, liver, pancreas, intestine, and other organs. Mutations of HNF-1β in humans produce renal cysts and congenital kidney anomalies. Here, we identify the LIM-domain protein zyxin as a novel binding partner of HNF-1β in renal epithelial cells. Zyxin shuttles to the nucleus where it colocalizes with HNF-1β. Immunoprecipitation of zyxin in leptomycin B-treated cells results in coprecipitation of HNF-1β. The protein interaction requires the second LIM domain of zyxin and two distinct domains of HNF-1β. Overexpression of zyxin stimulates the transcriptional activity of HNF-1β, whereas small interfering RNA silencing of zyxin inhibits HNF-1β-dependent transcription. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) induces translocation of zyxin into the nucleus and stimulates HNF-1β-dependent promoter activity. The EGF-mediated nuclear translocation of zyxin requires activation of Akt. Expression of dominant-negative mutant HNF-1β, knockdown of zyxin, or inhibition of Akt inhibits EGF-stimulated cell migration. These findings reveal a novel pathway by which extracellular signals are transmitted to the nucleus to regulate the activity of a transcription factor that is essential for renal epithelial differentiation.


2001 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 1930-1941 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin N. Pennington ◽  
Julie A. Taylor ◽  
Gary D. Bren ◽  
Carlos V. Paya

ABSTRACT The molecular mechanisms regulating monocyte differentiation to macrophages remain unknown. Although the transcription factor NF-κB participates in multiple cell functions, its role in cell differentiation is ill defined. Since differentiated macrophages, in contrast to cycling monocytes, contain significant levels of NF-κB in the nuclei, we questioned whether this transcription factor is involved in macrophage differentiation. Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)-induced differentiation of the promonocytic cell line U937 leads to persistent NF-κB nuclear translocation. We demonstrate here that an increased and persistent IKK activity correlates with monocyte differentiation leading to persistent NF-κB activation secondary to increased IκBα degradation via the IκB signal response domain (SRD). Promonocytic cells stably overexpressing an IκBα transgene containing SRD mutations fail to activate NF-κB and subsequently fail to survive the PMA-induced macrophage differentiation program. The differentiation-induced apoptosis was found to be dependent on tumor necrosis factor alpha. The protective effect of NF-κB is mediated through p21WAF1/Cip1, since this protein was found to be regulated in an NF-κB-dependent manner and to confer survival features during macrophage differentiation. Therefore, NF-κB plays a key role in cell differentiation by conferring cell survival that in the case of macrophages is mediated through p21WAF1/Cip1.


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