Selective DNA Binding and Association with the CREB Binding Protein Coactivator Contribute to Differential Activation of Alpha/Beta Interferon Genes by Interferon Regulatory Factors 3 and 7

• DOI: 10.1128/mcb.20.17.6342-6353.2000
• Publication Date: 2002-07-27T10:06:23Z
• Authors: Rongtuan Lin; Pierre Génin; Yaël Mamane; John Hiscott
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; Binding Sites; Base Sequence; Interferon Regulatory Factor-7; Immunoblotting; Molecular Sequence Data; Interferon-alpha; Nuclear Proteins; DNA; Interferon-beta; CREB-Binding Protein; Precipitin Tests; Cell Line; DNA-Binding Proteins; 03 medical and health sciences; Gene Expression Regulation; Mutagenesis; Humans; Interferon Regulatory Factor-3; Amino Acid Sequence; Chemokine CCL5; Plasmids

Recent studies implicate the interferon (IFN) regulatory factors (IRF) IRF-3 and IRF-7 as key activators of the alpha/beta IFN (IFN-alpha/beta) genes as well as the RANTES chemokine gene. Using coexpression analysis, the human IFNB, IFNA1, and RANTES promoters were stimulated by IRF-3 coexpression, whereas the IFNA4, IFNA7, and IFNA14 promoters were preferentially induced by IRF-7 only. Chimeric proteins containing combinations of different IRF-7 and IRF-3 domains were also tested, and the results provided evidence of distinct DNA binding properties of IRF-3 and IRF-7, as well as a preferential association of IRF-3 with the CREB binding protein (CBP) coactivator. Interestingly, some of these fusion proteins led to supraphysiological levels of IFN promoter activation. DNA binding site selection studies demonstrated that IRF-3 and IRF-7 bound to the 5'-GAAANNGAAANN-3' consensus motif found in many virus-inducible genes; however, a single nucleotide substitution in either of the GAAA half-site motifs eliminated IRF-3 binding and transactivation activity but did not affect IRF-7 interaction or transactivation activity. These studies demonstrate that IRF-3 possesses a restricted DNA binding site specificity and interacts with CBP, whereas IRF-7 has a broader DNA binding specificity that contributes to its capacity to stimulate delayed-type IFN gene expression. These results provide an explanation for the differential regulation of IFN-alpha/beta gene expression by IRF-3 and IRF-7 and suggest that these factors have complementary rather than redundant roles in the activation of the IFN-alpha/beta genes.