Mutational analysis of the murine granzyme B gene promoter in primary T cells and a T cell clone

Prdm1 positively regulates liver Group 1 ILCs cancer immune surveillance and preserves functional heterogeneity

Group 1 innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) comprise conventional natural killer (cNK) cells and type 1 innate lymphoid cells (ILC1s). The main functions of liver cNK cells and ILC1s not only include directly killing target cells but also regulating local immune microenvironment of the liver through the secretion of cytokines. Uncovering the intricate mechanisms by which transcriptional factors regulate and influence the functions of liver cNK cells and ILC1s, particularly within the context of liver tumors, presents a significant opportunity to amplify the effectiveness of immunotherapies against liver malignancies. Using Ncr1-drived conditional knockout mouse model, our study reveals the regulatory role of Prdm1 in shaping the composition and maturation of cNK cells. Although Prdm1 did not affect the killing function of cNK cells in an in vivo cytotoxicity model, a significant increase in cancer metastasis was observed in Prdm1 knockout mice. Interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), granzyme B, and perforin secretion decreased significantly in Prdm1-deficient cNK cells and liver ILC1s. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data also provided evidences that Prdm1 maintains functional subsets of cNK cells and liver ILC1s and facilitates communications between cNK cells, liver ILC1s, and macrophages. The present study unveiled a novel regulatory mechanism of Prdm1 in cNK cells and liver ILC1s, showing promising potential for developing innovative immune therapy strategies against liver cancer.

Emerging Canonical and Non-Canonical Roles of Granzyme B in Health and Disease

The Granzyme (Gzm) family has classically been recognized as a cytotoxic tool utilized by cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) and natural killer (NK) cells to illicit cell death to infected and cancerous cells. Their importance is established based on evidence showing that deficiencies in these cell death executors result in defective immune responses. Recent findings have shown the importance of Granzyme B (GzmB) in regulatory immune cells, which may contribute to tumor growth and immune evasion during cancer development. Other studies have shown that members of the Gzm family are important for biological processes such as extracellular matrix remodeling, angiogenesis and organized vascular degradation. With this growing body of evidence, it is becoming more important to understand the broader function of Gzm's rather than a specific executor of cell death, and we should be aware of the many alternative roles that Gzm's play in physiological and pathological conditions. Therefore, we review the classical as well as novel non-canonical functions of GzmB and discuss approaches to utilize these new findings to address current gaps in our understanding of the immune system and tissue development.

FOXO1 constrains activation and regulates senescence in CD8 T cells

Naive and memory T cells are maintained in a quiescent state, yet capable of rapid response and differentiation to antigen challenge via molecular mechanisms that are not fully understood. In naive cells, the deletion of Foxo1 following thymic development results in the increased expression of multiple AP-1 family members, rendering T cells less able to respond to antigenic challenge. Similarly, in the absence of FOXO1, post-infection memory T cells exhibit the characteristics of extended activation and senescence. Age-based analysis of human peripheral T cells reveals that levels of FOXO1 and its downstream target, TCF7, are inversely related to host age, whereas the opposite is found for AP-1 factors. These characteristics of aging also correlate with the formation of T cells manifesting features of cellular senescence. Our work illustrates a role for FOXO1 in the active maintenance of stem-like properties in T cells at the timescales of acute infection and organismal life span.

SMAD4 promotes TGF-β-independent NK cell homeostasis and maturation and antitumor immunity

SMAD4 is the only common SMAD in TGF-β signaling that usually impedes immune cell activation in the tumor microenvironment. However, we demonstrated here that selective deletion of Smad4 in NK cells actually led to dramatically reduced tumor cell rejection and augmented tumor cell metastases, reduced murine CMV clearance, as well as impeded NK cell homeostasis and maturation. This was associated with a downregulation of granzyme B (Gzmb), Kit, and Prdm1 in Smad4-deficient NK cells. We further unveiled the mechanism by which SMAD4 promotes Gzmb expression. Gzmb was identified as a direct target of a transcriptional complex formed by SMAD4 and JUNB. A JUNB binding site distinct from that for SMAD4 in the proximal Gzmb promoter was required for transcriptional activation by the SMAD4-JUNB complex. In a Tgfbr2 and Smad4 NK cell-specific double-conditional KO model, SMAD4-mediated events were found to be independent of canonical TGF-β signaling. Our study identifies and mechanistically characterizes unusual functions and pathways for SMAD4 in governing innate immune responses to cancer and viral infection, as well as NK cell development.

Blockade of Kv1.3 potassium channels inhibits differentiation and granzyme B secretion of human CD8+ T effector memory lymphocytes

Increased expression of the voltage-gated potassium channel Kν1.3 on activated effector memory T cells (T(EM)) is associated with pathology in multiple sclerosis (MS). To date, most studies of Kν1.3 channels in MS have focused on CD4+ T(EM) cells. Much less is known about the functional relevance of Kv1.3 on CD8+ T(EM) cells. Herein, we examined the effects of Kν1.3 blockade on CD8+ T cell proliferation, differentiation into cytotoxic effector cells, and release of granzyme B (GrB), a key effector of CD8+ T cell-mediated cytotoxicity. We confirmed the expression of Kv1.3 channels on activated human CD8+ T lymphocytes by immunofluorescent staining. To test the functional relevance of the Kv1.3 channel in CD8+ T cells, we inhibited this channel via pharmacological blockers or a lentiviral-dominant negative (Kv1.xDN) approach and determined the effects of the blockade on critical pathogenic parameters of CD8+ T cells. We found that blockade of Kv1.3 with both lentivirus and pharmacologic agents effectively inhibited cytotoxic effector memory cells' proliferation, secretion of GrB, and their ability to kill neural progenitor cells. Intriguingly, the KvDN transduced T cells exhibited arrested differentiation from central memory (T(CM)) to effector memory (T(EM)) states. Transduction of cells that had already differentiated into T(EM) with KvDN led to their conversion into T(CM). CD8+ T(EM) have a critical role in MS and other autoimmune diseases. Our present results indicate a critical role for Kv1.3 in the conversion of CD8+ T cells into potential pathogenic effector cells with cytotoxic function.

Depletion of ascorbic acid impairs NK cell activity against ovarian cancer in a mouse model

Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) administration has been used to prevent infectious diseases in public or as a therapeutic agent by the physicians in treatment of several diseases. Ascorbic acid is also involved in immune cell functions and immune responses, although the mechanisms by which it exerts effects on immune cells against cancer cells are not fully understood at the normal plasma level. In this study, we used the mice lacking l-gulono-γ-lactone oxidase (Gulo), the enzyme required for the biosynthesis of ascorbic acid, to characterize the effects of ascorbic acid on NK cell cytotoxicity against ovarian cancer cells, MOSECs (murine ovarian surface epithelial cells). Gulo(-/-) mice depleted of ascorbic acid survived for a shorter time than the normal control or Gulo(-/-) mice supplemented with ascorbic acid after tumor challenge regardless of treatment with IL-2. CD69 and NKG2D expression was clearly reduced in NK cells isolated from mice depleted of ascorbic acid as compared to that in the normal control and the mice supplemented with ascorbic acid. We also observed that IFN-γ secretion by NK cells isolated from Gulo(-/-) mice depleted of ascorbic acid was decreased after NK cells were co-cultured with MOSECs. Furthermore, the mRNA expression of perforin and granzyme B genes was also significantly decreased in NK cells isolated from mice depleted of ascorbic acid. Taken together, our results suggest that ascorbic acid at the normal plasma concentration has an essential role in maintaining the NK cytotoxicity against cancer cells.

Longitudinal, noninvasive imaging of T-cell effector function and proliferation in living subjects

Adoptive immunotherapy is evolving to assume an increasing role in treating cancer. Most imaging studies in adoptive immunotherapy to date have focused primarily on locating tumor-specific T cells rather than understanding their effector functions. In this study, we report the development of a noninvasive imaging strategy to monitor T-cell activation in living subjects by linking a reporter gene to the Granzyme B promoter (pGB), whose transcriptional activity is known to increase during T-cell activation. Because pGB is relatively weak and does not lead to sufficient reporter gene expression for noninvasive imaging, we specifically employed 2 signal amplification strategies, namely the Two Step Transcription Amplification (TSTA) strategy and the cytomegalovirus enhancer (CMVe) strategy, to maximize firefly luciferase reporter gene expression. Although both amplification strategies were capable of increasing pGB activity in activated primary murine splenocytes, only the level of bioluminescence activity achieved with the CMVe strategy was adequate for noninvasive imaging in mice. Using T cells transduced with a reporter vector containing the hybrid pGB-CMVe promoter, we were able to optically image T-cell effector function longitudinally in response to tumor antigens in living mice. This methodology has the potential to accelerate the study of adoptive immunotherapy in preclinical cancer models.

Intracellular versus extracellular granzyme B in immunity and disease: challenging the dogma

The cytotoxic granzyme B (GrB)/perforin pathway has been traditionally viewed as a primary mechanism that is used by cytotoxic lymphocytes to eliminate allogeneic, virally infected and/or transformed cells. Although originally proposed to have intracellular and extracellular functions, upon the discovery that perforin, in combination with GrB, could induce apoptosis, other potential functions for this protease were, for the most part, disregarded. As there are 5 granzymes in humans and 11 granzymes in mice, many studies used perforin knockout mice as an initial screen to evaluate the role of granzymes in disease. However, in recent years, emerging clinical and biochemical evidence has shown that the latter approach may have overlooked a critical perforin-independent, pathogenic role for these proteases in disease. This review focuses on GrB, the most characterized of the granzyme family, in disease. Long known to be a pro-apoptotic protease expressed by cytotoxic lymphocytes and natural killer cells, it is now accepted that GrB can be expressed in other cell types of immune and nonimmune origin. To the latter, an emerging immune-independent role for GrB has been forwarded due to recent discoveries that GrB may be expressed in nonimmune cells such as smooth muscle cells, keratinocytes, and chondrocytes in certain disease states. Given that GrB retains its activity in the blood, can cleave extracellular matrix, and its levels are often elevated in chronic inflammatory diseases, this protease may be an important contributor to certain pathologies. The implications of sustained elevations of intracellular and extracellular GrB in chronic vascular, dermatological, and neurological diseases, among others, are developing. This review examines, for the first time, the multiple roles of GrB in disease pathogenesis.

Death by a thousand cuts: granzyme pathways of programmed cell death

The granzymes are cell death-inducing enzymes, stored in the cytotoxic granules of cytotoxic T lymphocytes and natural killer cells, that are released during granule exocytosis when a specific virus-infected or transformed target cell is marked for elimination. Recent work suggests that this homologous family of serine esterases can activate at least three distinct pathways of cell death. This redundancy likely evolved to provide protection against pathogens and tumors with diverse strategies for evading cell death. This review discusses what is known about granzyme-mediated pathways of cell death as well as recent studies that implicate granzymes in immune regulation and extracellular proteolytic functions in inflammation.

Acquisition of murine NK cell cytotoxicity requires the translation of a pre-existing pool of granzyme B and perforin mRNAs

Although activated murine NK cells can use the granule exocytosis pathway to kill target cells immediately upon recognition, resting murine NK cells are minimally cytotoxic for unknown reasons. Here, we showed that resting NK cells contained abundant granzyme A, but little granzyme B or perforin; in contrast, the mRNAs for all three genes were abundant. Cytokine-induced in vitro activation of NK cells resulted in potent cytotoxicity associated with a dramatic increase in granzyme B and perforin, but only minimal changes in mRNA abundance for these genes. The same pattern of regulation was found in vivo with murine cytomegalovirus infection as a physiologic model of NK cell activation. These data suggest that resting murine NK cells are minimally cytotoxic because of a block in perforin and granzyme B mRNA translation that is released by NK cell activation.

The identification of (ETV6)/RUNX1-regulated genes in lymphopoiesis using histone deacetylase inhibitors in ETV6/RUNX1-positive lymphoid leukemic cells

PURPOSE

Chimeric transcription factor ETV6/RUNX1 (TEL/AML1) is believed to cause pathologic block in lymphoid cell development via interaction with corepressor complex and histone deacetylase. We wanted to show the regulatory effect of ETV6/RUNX1 and its reversibility by histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi), as well as to identify potential ETV6/RUNX1-regulated genes.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

We used luciferase assay to show the interaction of ETV6/RUNX1 protein, ETV6/RUNX1-regulated gene, and HDACi. To identify ETV6/RUNX1-regulated genes, we used expression profiling and HDACi in lymphoid cells. Next, using the flow cytometry and quantitative reverse transcription-PCR, we measured differentiation changes in gene and protein expression after HDACi treatment.

RESULTS

Luciferase assay showed repression of granzyme B expression by ETV6/RUNX1 protein and the reversibility of this effect by HDACi. Proving this regulatory role of ETV6/RUNX1, we identified, using complex statistical analysis, 25 genes that are potentially regulated by ETV6/RUNX1 protein. In four selected genes with known role in the cell cycle regulation (JunD, ACK1, PDGFRB, and TCF4), we confirmed expression changes after HDACi by quantitative analysis. After HDACi treatment, ETV6/RUNX1-positive cells showed immunophenotype changes resembling differentiation process compared with other leukemic cells (BCR/ABL, ETV6/PDGFRB positive). Moreover, ETV6/RUNX1-positive leukemic cells accumulated in G(1)-G(0) phase after HDACi whereas other B-lineage leukemic cell lines showed rather unspecific changes including induction of apoptosis and decreased proliferation.

CONCLUSIONS

Presented data support the hypothesis that HDACi affect ETV6/RUNX1-positive cells via direct interaction with ETV6/RUNX1 protein and that treatment with HDACi may release aberrant transcription activity caused by ETV6/RUNX1 chimeric transcription factor.

A novel NF-kappaB binding site controls human granzyme B gene transcription

Granzyme B expression is essential for eliciting NK cell cytotoxicity and T cell function. However, its transcriptional regulatory mechanism is not well understood. In this report, we demonstrate in human NK cells and T cells that the NF-kappaB-signaling pathway is involved in such control. Furthermore, a novel downstream human granzyme B gene sequence (GGAGATTCCC) was identified for NF-kappaB binding. EMSA, luciferase, and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays in vitro and in vivo indicated that this NF-kappaB binding site is functional in an NK cell line and its primary counterpart. Our data also demonstrate that this binding site is functional in Jurkat T cells. Taken together, we identified a novel NF-kappaB binding site, which plays a pivotal role in controlling human granzyme B gene transcription.

Granzyme B, a new player in activation-induced cell death, is down-regulated by vasoactive intestinal peptide in Th2 but not Th1 effectors

Following antigenic stimulation and differentiation, Th1 and Th2 effector cells contribute differently to cellular and humoral immunity. Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) induces Th2 responses by promoting Th2 differentiation and survival. In this study, we investigate the mechanisms for the protective effect of VIP against activation-induced cell death (AICD) of Th2 effectors. Surprisingly, microarray and protein data indicate that VIP prevents the up-regulation of granzyme B (GrB) in Th2 but not Th1 effectors. This is the first report of GrB expression in Th cells and of its involvement in activation-induced apoptosis. The enhanced responsiveness of Th2 cells to VIP is probably due to the higher expression of VIP receptors. The effect of VIP on Th2 survival and GrB expression is mediated through the VIP receptors 1 and 2 and cAMP signaling through exchange protein activated by cAMP and, to a lesser degree, protein kinase A. In addition to effects on GrB, VIP also down-regulates Fas ligand (FasL) and perforin (Pfr) expression. The extrinsic Fas/FasL pathway and the intrinsic GrB-dependent pathway act independently in inducing AICD. The mechanisms by which GrB induces cell death in Th1/Th2 effectors include both fratricide and suicide. Fratricide killing, prevalent in wild-type cells, is calcium and Pfr dependent, whereas the cell death of Pfr-deficient Th cells involves Fas and GrB but is calcium independent. This study identifies GrB as a new significant player in Th1/Th2 AICD and characterizes two mechanisms for the protective effect of VIP on Th2 survival, i.e., the down-regulation of GrB and FasL expression.

Recent developments in the transcriptional regulation of cytolytic effector cells

Transcription factors have a profound influence on both the differentiation and effector function of cells of the immune system. T-bet controls the cytotoxicity of CD8(+) T cells and the production of interferon-gamma, and it also affects the development and function of natural killer cells and natural killer T cells. Other factors such as eomesodermin, MEF, ETS1 and members of the interferon-regulatory factor family also contribute to the effector function of immune cells. In this review, we focus on recent studies that have shed light on the transcriptional mechanisms that regulate cellular effector function in the immune system.

Catecholaminergic control of NK cell cytolytic activity regulatory factors in the spleen

We examined the effects of norepinephrine (NE), isoproterenol (ISO) and metaproterenol (MP) on natural killer (NK) cell cytolytic activity and on the protein and mRNA levels of the regulatory factors perforin and granzyme B and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) in splenocytes. NE, the beta-adrenergic agonist ISO, and the beta 2-selective-agonist MP all inhibited the protein and mRNA levels of perforin, granzyme B and mRNA levels of IFN-gamma. NE inhibited NK cell cytolytic activity as well. Furthermore, MP inhibition of granzyme B mRNA was blocked by the beta-antagonist nadolol. These data suggest that NE and beta-adrenergic agonists may inhibit NK cell cytolytic activity by regulating the production of perforin, granzyme B, and IFN-gamma in splenocytes.

Granzyme B-induced cell death

Granzyme B (GrB) is a serine protease that is released by cytotoxic lymphocytes to kill virus-infected and tumor cells. Recent advances in the understanding of GrB have stressed the importance of reassessing the mechanisms by which GrB accomplishes its death functions. These include the uptake and trafficking of GrB within target cells, pathways used to trigger cell death, and the mechanism(s) controlling its killing activity. In addition, the role that GrB plays in human pathologies is still to be defined. The purpose of this review is to discuss recent insights into the biology of GrB and to evaluate its functional significance in health and disease.

Transcription factor fusions in acute leukemia: variations on a theme

The leukemia-associated fusion proteins share several structural or functional similarities, suggesting that they may impart a leukemic phenotype through common modes of transcriptional dysregulation. The fusion proteins generated by these translocations usually contain a DNA-binding domain, domains responsible for homo- or hetero-dimerization, and domains that interact with proteins involved in chromatin remodeling (e.g., co-repressor molecules or co-activator molecules). It is these shared features that constitute the 'variations on the theme' that underling the aberrant growth and differentiation that is the hallmark of acute leukemia cells.

Analysis of genes under the downstream control of the t(8;21) fusion protein AML1-MTG8: overexpression of the TIS11b(ERF-1, cMG1) gene induces myeloid cell proliferation in response to G-CSF

The AML1-MTG8 fusion transcription factor generated by t(8;21) translocation is thought to dysregulate genes that are crucial for normal differentiation and proliferation of hematopoietic progenitors to cause acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). Although AML1-MTG8 has been shown to repress the transcription of AML1 targets, none of the known targets of AML1 are probably responsible for AML1-MTG8-mediated leukemogenesis. In this study, 24 genes under the downstream control of AML1-MTG8 were isolated by using a differential display technique. Analysis with deletion mutants of AML1-MTG8 demonstrated that the regulation of the majority of these genes requires the region of 51 residues (488-538) containing the Nervy homology region 2 (NHR2), through which AML1-MTG8 interacts with MTGR1. Among the 24 genes identified, 10 were considered to be genes under the control of AML1, because their expression was altered by AML1b or AML1a or both. However, the other 14 genes were not affected by either AML1b or AML1a, suggesting the possibility that AML1-MTG8 regulates a number of specific target genes that are not normally regulated by AML1. Furthermore, an up-regulated gene, TIS11b (ERF-1,cMG1), was highly expressed in t(8;21) leukemic cells, and the overexpression of TIS11b induced myeloid cell proliferation in response to granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. These results suggest that the high-level expression of TIS11b contributes to AML1-MTG8-mediated leukemogenesis.

Analysis of genes under the downstream control of the t(8;21) fusion protein AML1-MTG8: overexpression of the TIS11b(ERF-1, cMG1) gene induces myeloid cell proliferation in response to G-CSF

The AML1-MTG8 fusion transcription factor generated by t(8;21) translocation is thought to dysregulate genes that are crucial for normal differentiation and proliferation of hematopoietic progenitors to cause acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). Although AML1-MTG8 has been shown to repress the transcription of AML1 targets, none of the known targets of AML1 are probably responsible for AML1-MTG8-mediated leukemogenesis. In this study, 24 genes under the downstream control of AML1-MTG8 were isolated by using a differential display technique. Analysis with deletion mutants of AML1-MTG8 demonstrated that the regulation of the majority of these genes requires the region of 51 residues (488-538) containing the Nervy homology region 2 (NHR2), through which AML1-MTG8 interacts with MTGR1. Among the 24 genes identified, 10 were considered to be genes under the control of AML1, because their expression was altered by AML1b or AML1a or both. However, the other 14 genes were not affected by either AML1b or AML1a, suggesting the possibility that AML1-MTG8 regulates a number of specific target genes that are not normally regulated by AML1. Furthermore, an up-regulated gene, TIS11b (ERF-1,cMG1), was highly expressed in t(8;21) leukemic cells, and the overexpression of TIS11b induced myeloid cell proliferation in response to granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. These results suggest that the high-level expression of TIS11b contributes to AML1-MTG8-mediated leukemogenesis.

Inhibitory Effect of the Transcription Factor Encoded by themi Mutant Allele in Cultured Mast Cells of Mice

The mi locus of mice encodes a transcription factor of the basic-helix-loop-helix-leucine zipper protein family (MITF). The MITF encoded by the mutant mi allele (mi-MITF) deletes 1 of 4 consecutive arginines in the basic domain. The mice of mi/migenotype express mi-MITF, whereas the mice of tg/tggenotype have a transgene at the 5′ flanking region of themi gene and do not express any MITF. To investigate the function of mi-MITF in cultured mast cells (CMCs), we took two approaches. First, mRNA obtained from mi/mi CMCs ortg/tg CMCs was subtracted from complementary (c) DNA library of normal (+/+) CMCs, and the (+/+-mi/mi) and (+/+-tg/tg) subtraction libraries were obtained. When the number of clones that hybridized more efficiently with +/+ CMC cDNA probe than with mi/mi or tg/tg CMC cDNA probe was compared using Southern analysis, the number was larger in the (+/+-mi/mi) library than in the (+/+-tg/tg) library. Second, we compared mRNA expression of six genes betweenmi/mi and tg/tg CMCs by Northern analysis. The transcription of three genes encoding mouse mast cell proteases was impaired in both mi/mi and tg/tg CMCs. On the other hand, the transcription of three genes encoding c-kit receptor, tryptophan hydroxylase, and granzyme B was markedly reduced inmi/mi CMCs, but the reduction was significantly smaller intg/tg CMCs. These results indicated the inhibitory effect ofmi-MITF on the transactivation of particular genes in CMCs.

Inhibitory Effect of the Transcription Factor Encoded by themi Mutant Allele in Cultured Mast Cells of Mice

The mi locus of mice encodes a transcription factor of the basic-helix-loop-helix-leucine zipper protein family (MITF). The MITF encoded by the mutant mi allele (mi-MITF) deletes 1 of 4 consecutive arginines in the basic domain. The mice of mi/migenotype express mi-MITF, whereas the mice of tg/tggenotype have a transgene at the 5′ flanking region of themi gene and do not express any MITF. To investigate the function of mi-MITF in cultured mast cells (CMCs), we took two approaches. First, mRNA obtained from mi/mi CMCs ortg/tg CMCs was subtracted from complementary (c) DNA library of normal (+/+) CMCs, and the (+/+-mi/mi) and (+/+-tg/tg) subtraction libraries were obtained. When the number of clones that hybridized more efficiently with +/+ CMC cDNA probe than with mi/mi or tg/tg CMC cDNA probe was compared using Southern analysis, the number was larger in the (+/+-mi/mi) library than in the (+/+-tg/tg) library. Second, we compared mRNA expression of six genes betweenmi/mi and tg/tg CMCs by Northern analysis. The transcription of three genes encoding mouse mast cell proteases was impaired in both mi/mi and tg/tg CMCs. On the other hand, the transcription of three genes encoding c-kit receptor, tryptophan hydroxylase, and granzyme B was markedly reduced inmi/mi CMCs, but the reduction was significantly smaller intg/tg CMCs. These results indicated the inhibitory effect ofmi-MITF on the transactivation of particular genes in CMCs.

Down-regulation of human granzyme B expression by glucocorticoids. Dexamethasone inhibits binding to the Ikaros and AP-1 regulatory elements of the granzyme B promoter

The serine protease granzyme B is an essential component of the granule exocytosis pathway, a major apoptotic mechanism used by cytotoxic T lymphocytes and natural killer cells to induce target cell apoptosis. Granzyme B gene transcription is induced in activated lymphocytes upon antigenic stimulation, and several regulatory regions including CBF, AP-1, and Ikaros binding sites have been shown to be essential in the control of granzyme B promoter activation. Dexamethasone, a glucocorticoid that is widely used as an immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory agent, inhibits granzyme B mRNA transcript in phytohemagglutinin-activated peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Transfection of a reporter construct containing the -148 to +60 region of the human granzyme B promoter demonstrated that this region was the target for dexamethasone repression. Mutation of Ikaros or AP-1 binding sites in the context of the granzyme B promoter demonstrated that both sites participate in dexamethasone-mediated inhibition of the granzyme B promoter activity. Electromobility shift assay revealed that dexamethasone abolished the binding of nuclear transcription factors to the Ikaros binding site and reduced AP-1 binding activity. These results indicate that dexamethasone is able to abrogate the transcriptional activity of the human granzyme B gene promoter by inhibiting the binding of nuclear factors at the AP-1 and Ikaros sites.

Systematic Method to Obtain Novel Genes That Are Regulated bymi Transcription Factor: Impaired Expression of Granzyme B and Tryptophan Hydroxylase in mi/mi Cultured Mast Cells

The mi locus encodes a member of the basic-helix-loop-helix-leucine zipper protein family of transcription factors (hereafter called MITF). We have reported that the expression of several genes was impaired in cultured mast cells (CMCs) ofmi/mi genotype, and demonstrated the involvement of MITF in the transcription of these genes. To obtain new genes whose transcription may be regulated by MITF, we prepared a subtracted cDNA library using +/+ and mi/mi CMCs. We found two clones carrying the granzyme (Gr) B and tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) cDNAs in the subtracted library. The expression of the Gr B and TPH genes decreased in mi/mi CMCs, and recovered to nearly normal level by the overexpression of normal (+) MITF but not of mutant (mi) MITF. The +-MITF bound three and one CANNTG motifs in the Gr B and TPH promoters, respectively, and transactivated these two genes, indicating the involvement of +-MITF in their expression. Because TPH is the rate-limiting enzyme for serotonin synthesis, we examined the serotonin content of +/+ and mi/mi CMCs. The serotonin content was significantly smaller in mi/mi CMCs than in +/+ CMCs. The introduction of +-MITF but not of mi-MITF normalized the serotonin content in mi/mi CMCs.

Systematic Method to Obtain Novel Genes That Are Regulated bymi Transcription Factor: Impaired Expression of Granzyme B and Tryptophan Hydroxylase in mi/mi Cultured Mast Cells

The mi locus encodes a member of the basic-helix-loop-helix-leucine zipper protein family of transcription factors (hereafter called MITF). We have reported that the expression of several genes was impaired in cultured mast cells (CMCs) ofmi/mi genotype, and demonstrated the involvement of MITF in the transcription of these genes. To obtain new genes whose transcription may be regulated by MITF, we prepared a subtracted cDNA library using +/+ and mi/mi CMCs. We found two clones carrying the granzyme (Gr) B and tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) cDNAs in the subtracted library. The expression of the Gr B and TPH genes decreased in mi/mi CMCs, and recovered to nearly normal level by the overexpression of normal (+) MITF but not of mutant (mi) MITF. The +-MITF bound three and one CANNTG motifs in the Gr B and TPH promoters, respectively, and transactivated these two genes, indicating the involvement of +-MITF in their expression. Because TPH is the rate-limiting enzyme for serotonin synthesis, we examined the serotonin content of +/+ and mi/mi CMCs. The serotonin content was significantly smaller in mi/mi CMCs than in +/+ CMCs. The introduction of +-MITF but not of mi-MITF normalized the serotonin content in mi/mi CMCs.