Stat6 Inhibits Human Interleukin-4 Promoter Activity in T Cells

Myb proteins repress human Ig epsilon germline transcription by inhibiting STAT6-dependent promoter activation

Cytokine-dependent induction of correctly spliced germline (GL) transcripts is required to target the appropriate switch region for class switch recombination. GL transcription is linked to the cell cycle and the number of cell divisions through mechanisms that have not been defined. The human proximal epsilon GL promoter contains an IL-4 responsive element (IL-4RE) that binds STAT6 and is sufficient to confer IL-4 inducibility to a heterologous promoter in transient transfection studies. We show herein that the IL-4RE contains a novel Myb binding motif that overlaps the 3' end of the STAT6 palindrome. EMSA analysis showed binding to the IL-4RE of endogenous Myb proteins expressed in BL-2 B cells and Jurkat T cells. However, double occupancy of a probe spanning both STAT6 and Myb binding motifs could not be detected. Thus, binding of either factor may prevent protein/DNA interactions at the other site, raising the possibility that Myb binding may interfere with STAT6-dependent activation of the IL-4RE. Indeed, cotransfection of A-Myb or c-Myb expression vectors in HEK293 and BL-2 cells suppressed STAT6-dependent transcription from a reporter construct containing four copies of the IL-4RE cloned upstream of a minimal thymidine kinase promoter. Most importantly, overexpression of A-Myb was sufficient to suppress IL-4-induced endogenous epsilon GL transcription in BL-2 cells. Our results indicate that Myb proteins, which are known to act as cell cycle sensors, may play an important mechanistic role in the in vivo regulation of epsilon GL transcription in human B cells.

Phytochemical inhibition of interleukin-4-activated Stat6 and expression of VCAM-1

Cellular functions induced by cytokine interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-4 signaling through signal transducer and activator of transcription (Stat)6 typify a Th2-type immune response. We investigated the inhibitor effect of the NFkappaB blocker parthenolide in the late-phase, Th2-type immune response. Parthenolide blocked by 90.6 +/- 7.4% the IL-4-induced expression of the endothelial vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1, a hallmark of extravasation of very late antigen-4-positive leukocytes. The noncytotoxic concentrations of 10 microM parthenolide left a section of the IL-4 receptor signal transduction intact. Parthenolide did not interfere with the immediate IL-4-induced phosphorylation of endothelial Stat6 on its tyrosine residue Y641 and with tyrosine phosphorylation of the adapter molecule, Jak2-both processes are obligatory for dimerization and nuclear translocation of Stat6. But parthenolide inhibited the Stat6 DNA-binding activity in IL-4-stimulated endothelial cells and inhibited the IL-4-driven activation of a luciferase reporter gene under the control of Stat6-responsive elements (IC(50) 5.11 +/- 0.67 microM). Together, these data suggest an anti-chronic disease profile for the sesquiterpene lactone parthenolide.

Activation of Eotaxin Gene Transcription by NF-κB and STAT6 in Human Airway Epithelial Cells

The C-C chemokine eotaxin is a potent chemoattractant for eosinophils and probably plays an important role in the pathogenesis of asthma, although the mechanisms of its regulation are not well known. Airway epithelial cells express eotaxin mRNA and protein after stimulation with a variety of cytokines. We focused on the molecular mechanisms of eotaxin gene regulation by TNF-α and IL-4 in the airway epithelial cell line, BEAS-2B. Cells were transfected with luciferase reporter plasmids, which contained up to 1363 bp of the eotaxin promoter. Eotaxin promoter activity was increased by TNF-α (2.5-fold) and IL-4 (1.5-fold), respectively. The combination of TNF-α and IL-4 produced 3.6-fold activation of the eotaxin promoter. The eotaxin promoter contains overlapping consensus binding sites for transcription factors, NF-κB and STAT6, which are known to mediate responses to TNF-α and IL-4, respectively. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays revealed NF-κB binding after TNF-α stimulation and STAT6 binding after IL-4 stimulation using a DNA probe derived from the eotaxin promoter. Mutant plasmids were generated to define the roles of these transcription factors in eotaxin promoter activity. TNF-α stimulation, but not IL-4 stimulation, was lost in plasmids mutated at the NF-κB binding site, whereas IL-4 stimulation, but not TNF-α stimulation, was lost in plasmids mutated at the STAT6 binding site. When both sites were mutated, all transcriptional activation was lost. These results imply that TNF-α and IL-4 stimulate expression of the eotaxin gene by activating NF-κB and STAT6.