The p53 protein activates promoters containing p53 binding sites, and it represses other promoters. We examined the eect of p53 on bcl-2 expression in both the DHL-4 B cell line and the K562 erythroleukemia line. Transient transfection analyses revealed that wildtype p53 repressed the bcl-2 full-length promoter. The region of the bcl-2 promoter that was responsive to p53 was mapped to the bcl-2 P2 minimal promoter region, and we showed that p53 and the TATA binding protein bound to the bcl-2 TATA sequence. The TATA binding protein, p53, histone deacetylase-1 and mSin3a could be co-immunoprecipitated from K562 cell nuclear extract. The TATA binding protein and mSin3a could be recovered in a complex at the bcl-2 promoter TATA sequence, however, the formation of this complex was not dependent on the presence of p53. Treatment of K562 cells with the histone deacetylase inhibitor, trichostatin A, resulted in an increase in bcl-2 promoter activity whether p53 was present or not. Therefore, we demonstrated that p53 and the histone deacetylases repress the bcl-2 promoter independently. Similar results were obtained when endogenous bcl-2 mRNA or protein levels were measured in response to either p53 or trichostatin A, and p53 expression resulted in enhanced apoptosis. RNase protection assays demonstrated that transcription from the endogenous 3' bcl-2 promoter was decreased by p53. The regions of p53 that were required for repression of the bcl-2 promoter were de®ned. We conclude that the TATA sequence in the bcl-2 P2 minimal promoter is the target for repression by p53, and that the interaction between p53 and TBP is most likely responsible for the repression. Mutation of p53 may play a role in the up-regulation of bcl-2 expression in some B cell lymphomas. Oncogene (2001) 20, 240 ± 251.

The translocated and normal bcl-2 alleles in the DHL-4 cell line with the t(14;18) translocation were separated by pulsed field electrophoresis. An in vivo footprint over a potential WT1 binding site in the bcl-2 5-flanking sequence was identified on the normal silent allele. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays with the bcl-2 WT1 site demonstrated a single specific complex. UV cross-linking and Western analysis revealed that this gel shift complex contained WT1 protein. Deletion or mutation of the WT1 site resulted in an increase in activity of the bcl-2 promoter in DHL-4 cells. Cotransfection with a 3:1 ratio of a WT1 expression vector to the bcl-2 promoter construct led to a 3.0-fold repression of the bcl-2 promoter. Cotransfection with a WT1 expression vector and the bcl-2 promoter with the mutated WT1 site resulted in only 1.2-fold repression. We conclude that the WT1 site functions as a negative regulatory site for the normal silent bcl-2 allele in t(14;18) lymphomas. The WT1 site is not occupied on the translocated bcl-2 allele.

We have identified an in vivo footprint over the PuF site on the translocated c-myc allele in Burkitt's lymphoma cells. The PuF site on the silent normal c-myc allele was unoccupied. We demonstrated by electrophoretic mobility shift assay, electrophoretic mobility shift assay with antibody, UV cross-linking followed by SDS-gel electrophoresis, and Western analysis that Nm23H2 in B cell nuclear extracts bound to the c-myc PuF site. Transfection experiments with c-myc promoter constructs in both DHL-9 and Raji cells revealed that the PuF site functioned as a positive regulatory element in B cells with a drop in activity with mutation of this site. Access to this site is blocked in the normal silent c-myc allele; these data suggest that the Nm23H2 protein is involved in deregulation of the translocated c-myc allele in Burkitt's lymphoma cells.

The translocated and normal bcl-2 alleles in the DHL-4 cell line with the t(14;18) translocation were separated by pulsed field electrophoresis. An in vivo footprint over a cAMP response element (CRE) in the bcl-2 5'-flanking sequence was identified on the translocated allele. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays with the bcl-2 CRE demonstrated complexes with mobilities identical to those with a consensus CRE. UV cross-linking experiments revealed that proteins with molecular masses of 34, 43, and 67 kDa bound to the bcl-2 CRE site. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay with an antibody specific to the phosphorylated cAMP response-binding protein (CREB) demonstrated that phosphorylated CREB was present in DHL-4 cells. Treatment with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) led to an increase in both the amount of phosphorylated CREB and the bcl-2 promoter activity. The response to PMA was dependent on an intact CRE site. The activity of the bcl-2 promoter was increased 20-fold in a construct with the immunoglobulin heavy chain enhancers, and mutation of the CRE site abolished most of the induction. The addition of PMA increased the activity of the bcl-2-immunoglobulin enhancer construct by 3.5-fold. Access to the CRE site is blocked in the silent normal bcl-2 allele, while CREB proteins bind to the site on the translocated allele. We conclude that the CRE site functions as a positive regulatory site for the translocated bcl-2 allele in t(14;18) lymphomas.

The c-myb gene is primarily expressed in immature hematopoietic cells, and it is overexpressed in many leukemias. We have investigated the role of negative regulatory sites in the c-myb promoter in the Molt-4 T cell line and in the DHL-9 B cell line. A potential binding site for either the EGR-1 or WT1 protein was identified by in vivo footprinting in the 5-flanking region of c-myb in a region of negative regulatory activity in T cells. We showed by electrophoretic mobility shift assay and electrophoretic mobility shift assay Western that WT1, EGR-1, and Sp1 bound to this site. A mutation of this site which prevented protein binding increased the activity of the c-myb promoter by 2.5-fold. In the DHL-9 B cell line, this site was nonfunctional; however, we found a potential EGR-1/WT1 site located more 3 in a region of negative regulatory activity. We showed that WT1, EGR-1, and Sp1 bound to this site, and that mutation of this site increased the activity of the c-myb promoter by 3.2-fold. Cotransfection of a WT1 expression vector repressed the activity of the c-myb promoter in both cell lines, and this repression was relieved when the EGR-1/ WT1 sites were removed. Cotransfection of either an EGR-1 or Sp1 expression vector had no significant effect on the activity of the c-myb promoter. We conclude that WT1 is a negative regulator of c-myb expression in both T and B cell lines.The c-myb protooncogene is the cellular homologue of the avian myeloblastosis virus and avian leukemia virus (E26) transforming genes (1, 2). Myb is a sequence-specific DNAbinding protein with the ability to transactivate promoters with the specific consensus sequence PyAAC(G/T)G (3, 4). Reduction of c-myb expression results in a block to hematopoietic precursor cell proliferation (5), and homozygous c-myb mutant mice demonstrate greatly impaired fetal hepatic hematopoiesis (6). The importance of the c-myb gene product in leukemic cell proliferation is demonstrated by the inhibition of cellular proliferation by c-myb antisense oligonucleotides (7). Leukemic cells were shown to be more sensitive to this inhibitory effect than normal hematopoietic cells (8).The central role that c-Myb plays in the regulation of hematopoietic cell development has fueled research into the regulation of its expression. The regulation of c-myb expression appears to be complex and occurs at several levels. An important mechanism for regulation of mouse c-myb expression is a block to transcription elongation within the first intron of the c-myb locus, recognized as a pause site (9 -11). A correlation between protein binding to the intron 1 pause site and c-myb mRNA levels has been demonstrated using DNA mobility shift assays (12). It has been shown that in vitro translated c-Myb can bind to Myb binding sequences found in the c-myb 5Ј-flanking region and that in cotransfection studies c-Myb is involved in positive autoregulation of the c-myb gene in hamster fibroblasts (13). Recent studies conducted in mouse T cell lines suggest that murine c-myb expression is depen...

The deregulation of expression of the c-myc gene in Burkitt's lymphoma results from the translocation that links one c-myc allele to one of the immunoglobulin genes. This physical linkage promotes interactions between c-myc and immunoglobulin gene regulatory elements that affect c-myc transcription initiation and elongation. We have located a region in the c-myc promoter that is required for the complete activation by the immunoglobulin heavy chain gene enhancer. This regulatory element contains a core sequence, GGGAGG, similar to the GA box recognized by the transcription factor Myc-associated zinc finger protein (MAZ). UV cross-link analysis indicated that the mass of this protein did not correspond to that of MAZ, suggesting that a protein related to but distinct from MAZ bound to this site. Mutation of this regulatory element resulted in a loss of promoter activity induced by the immunoglobulin heavy chain gene enhancer. This site was also required for the c-myc promoter shift from P2 to P1. In vivo footprinting revealed that this site was occupied on the translocated c-myc allele but not on the untranslocated allele. Taken together, these findings suggest that this regulatory element is required for the full activation of c-myc promoter activity by the immunoglobulin heavy chain gene enhancer.Burkitt's lymphoma is characterized by specific chromosomal translocations that juxtapose the proto-oncogene c-myc on chromosome 8 to one of the Ig loci on chromosome 2, 14, or 22. The most common form of the translocation is t(8;14) where the c-myc gene is covalently linked to the immunoglobulin heavy chain gene (IgH)1 . The translocated c-myc gene is highly expressed, whereas the normal allele is silent. Furthermore, the transcripts initiated from the c-myc P1 promoter, which normally contribute to a minor (10 -20%) population of c-myc mRNA, increase to a level greater than the transcripts initiated from the P2 promoter, a phenomenon known as promoter shift (1-3). It is assumed that the physical linkage of the c-myc gene to one of the immunoglobulin loci promotes the interactions between c-myc and Ig regulatory elements that affect c-myc transcriptional initiation and elongation. In support of this view, it has been demonstrated that linkage of the murine IgH 3Ј enhancer region, MHS1234, to a 2.3-kb region of the human c-myc promoter in an episomal vector is sufficient to reproduce the activation of c-myc transcription and the promoter shift in stably transfected Raji cells (4). Similar results have been obtained with the Ig (5) and Ig (6) light chain enhancers. Despite these findings, most of the cis-acting enhancer and promoter elements that contribute to the deregulation of expression of the c-myc gene remain unidentified.We have shown previously that an NF-B site in the MHS4 region of the IgH enhancer is required for the transcriptional activation of the translocated c-myc gene and is involved in inducing the c-myc promoter shift from P2 to P1 (7). Others have found that NF-B and PU.1 sites are critical for the d...

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An in vivo footprint over a potential NF-kappa B site in the first exon of the c-myc gene has been identified on the translocated allele in the Ramos Burkitt's lymphoma cell line. The potential NF-kappa B site in the 5' flanking sequence of c-myc was found to be occupied on the translocated allele in the Raji Burkitt's cell line. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays with each of these sequences demonstrated complexes with mobilities identical to those of the NF-kappa B site from the kappa light-chain gene. A supershift was obtained with anti-p50 antibody with the exon site. The upstream-site shift complex disappeared with the addition of anti-p50 antibody. Binding of NF-kappa B proteins to the c-myc exon and upstream sites was demonstrated by induction of binding upon differentiation of pre-B 70Z/3 cells to B cells. UV cross-linking experiments revealed that a protein with a molecular mass of 50 kDa bound to the exon and upstream sites. Transfection experiments with Raji cells demonstrated that both sites functioned as positive regulatory regions, with a drop in activity level when either site was mutated. Access to these sites is blocked in the silent normal c-myc allele in Burkitt's lymphoma cells, while Rel family proteins bind to these sites in the translocated allele. We conclude that the two NF-kappa B sites function as positive regulatory regions for the translocated c-myc gene in Burkitt's lymphoma.