Expression of SH 2 -homology-containing protein-tyrosine phosphatase-1 (SHP-1), a candidate tumor suppressor, is repressed in human T-cell leukemia virus type-1 (HTLV-1)-transformed lymphocyte cell lines, adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) cells, and in other hematologic malignancies. However, the mechanisms underlying regulation and repression of SHP-1 remain unclear. Herein, we cloned the putative full-length, hematopoietic cellspecific SHP-1 P2 promoter and identified the "core" promoter regions. HTLV-1 Tax profoundly represses P2 promoter activity and histone deacetylase-1 (HDAC1) potentiates such inhibition. NF-B was implicated as both a rate-limiting factor for basal P2 promoter activity and important for Tax
IntroductionAdult T-cell leukemia (ATL) is an aggressive malignancy of CD4 ϩ , CD25 ϩ T cells, and the human T-cell leukemia virus type-1 (HTLV-1) has been identified as the causative agent. 1,2 While the understanding of ATL pathogenesis currently remains incomplete, the HTLV-1 virusencoded Tax protein has been implicated as a major contributor in the development of ATL. [3][4][5][6] The oncogenic potential of HTLV-1 Tax has been associated with its ability to modulate expression and function of cellular targets involved in cell proliferation and differentiation. 7,8 For example, Tax has been shown to induce the activation of NF-B, CREB, AP-1, and SRF 6 as well as to up-regulate IL-2/IL-2 receptor-␣, 9 IL-15, 10 IL-4, 11 12 and OX40/OX40L 6 pathways, resulting in the stimulation of cell growth. Tax can also be a negative regulator of gene expression/function and can down-regulate expression of genes involved in host DNA repair, 13 maintaining genetic stability 14 and cell cycle progression. 15 Of particular importance to this study, Tax has been shown to exert negative effects on at least 3 cellular tumor suppressorsRb, [16][17][18][19] hDLG, a human homolog of the Drosophila discs large tumor suppressor protein, 6,20-22 and p53. 6,23,24 Tax alone is able to immortalize primary human T lymphocytes and transform rodent fibroblast in vitro. 25,26 Transgenic mice expressing Tax can also develop tumor in vivo with a wide range of phenotypes . 25,27,28 Among the cellular dysfunctions caused by HTLV-1 infection, the loss of IL-2 dependence is remarkable in many HTLV-1-transformed cells. 29 In HTLV-1-infected cord blood lymphocytes, the transition from IL-2-dependent to IL-2-independent growth has been shown to correlate with the acquisition of a constitutively activated Jak/STAT pathway, suggesting the involvement of this pathway in HTLV-1-mediated T-cell transformation. 30 In addition, proliferation of uncultured leukemic cells from ATL patients has been reported to be associated with constitutive activation of Jak/STAT proteins. 31 A number of cellular factors have been demonstrated to negatively regulate Jak/STAT activities, including SHP-1 (SH2-homology-containing protein-tyrosine phosphatase-1), PIAS-3 (protein inhibitors of activated STATs), SOCS-1 (suppressors of cytokine signaling), and CIS (cytokine-in...