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The Journal of Immunology, 2001, 167: 2157-2163.
Copyright © 2001 by The American Association of Immunologists

E2A and HEB Activate the Pre-TCR{alpha} Promoter During Immature T Cell Development1

Arata Takeuchi, Sho Yamasaki, Kan Takase, Fubito Nakatsu2, Hisashi Arase3, Makoto Onodera and Takashi Saito4

Department of Molecular Genetics, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan


    Abstract
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
The pre-TCR{alpha} (pT{alpha}) is exclusively expressed in immature thymocytes and constitutes the pre-TCR complex with TCR{beta}, which regulates early T cell differentiation. Despite the recent identification of the pT{alpha} enhancer, the contribution of the promoter region, the direct DNA-protein interaction, and the regulation of such interaction along with T cell development have not been investigated. We analyzed the pT{alpha} promoter region and identified the critical elements for transcription of the pT{alpha} gene. The pT{alpha} promoter was found to contain two consecutive E-box elements that are critical for pT{alpha} transcription. The E-box elements in the promoter region formed the specific DNA-protein complex that was exclusively observed in immature thymocytes, not in mature thymocytes and T cells. The E proteins in this complex were identified as E2A and HeLa E-box binding protein (HEB), and overexpression of E2A and HEB resulted in activation of the pT{alpha} promoter. The binding complex in the consecutive E-boxes in the pT{alpha} promoter changed along with T cell development, as a distinct DNA-binding complex was observed in mature T cells. Comparing the E-box regions in the enhancer and the promoter, those in the promoter appear to make a greater contribution to pT{alpha} gene transcription.


    Introduction
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
During early T cell development, thymocytes express an immature form of the TCR complex (pre-TCR) consisting of a rearranged TCR{beta} chain and a pre-TCR{alpha} (pT{alpha})5 chain in association with the CD3 complex at the CD4-CD8- double-negative (DN) stage of their differentiation (1). The pre-TCR complex transmits an essential survival signal for development of {alpha}{beta}T cells and is thought to play roles in allelic exclusion of TCR{beta} as well as the lineage commitment for TCR{alpha}{beta} vs TCR{gamma}{delta} T cells (2). The expression of pre-TCR is regulated both by the expression of pT{alpha} and the rearrangement of TCR{beta} chain. The pT{alpha} transcript is detected mainly in DN thymocytes. Early thymocyte development has been divided into four distinct stages depending on the expression of CD44 and CD25, namely, CD44+CD25- (DN1), CD44+CD25+ (DN2), CD44-CD25+ (DN3), and CD44-CD25- (DN4) cells (3). Transcriptional activity of pT{alpha} is very low in DN1 cells and gradually increases during later developmental stages (DN2 and DN3). Although pT{alpha} is also expressed in the early stage of CD4+CD8+ (double positive) cells, neither CD4+CD8- and CD4-CD8+ (SP) mature thymocytes nor mature T cells express pT{alpha}. Since TCR{beta} is rearranged and expressed at the DN2 stage, pT{alpha} expression takes place before TCR{beta} and the down-regulation of pT{alpha} leads to the disappearance of pre-TCR. In pT{alpha}-deficient mice, thymocyte development was blocked at the DN stage and the accumulation of DN3 cells was observed (4). These results show that expression of the pT{alpha} gene is regulated strictly during early T cell development and is essential for mature {alpha}{beta}T cell differentiation.

Basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors have been demonstrated to be essential for a number of developmental processes in various organisms including flies and mammals. In general, bHLH binds to a consensus hexanucleotide sequence, CANNTG, called E-box. E-box elements are found in the regulatory elements of T cell-specific proteins such as TCR{alpha}, {beta}, and CD4 gene (5, 6). Among many bHLHs, E2A and HeLa E-box binding protein (HEB), both of which are widely expressed E proteins, have been shown to be particularly important for the regulation of T cell development. In E2A-deficient mice, the number of thymocytes was significantly reduced and thymocyte differentiation was partially blocked at the CD44-CD25+ stage (7, 8). Similarly, HEB-deficient mice showed a reduction of thymocytes and a developmental block with accumulation of CD44-CD25+ thymocytes (9).

Recently, a transcriptional enhancer of the pT{alpha} gene was identified, and it was shown to regulate the expression of the pT{alpha} gene (10). Furthermore, it has been reported that the pT{alpha} enhancer region was activated by E2A-HEB (11). However, direct DNA binding of these E proteins, function of the promoter region, and the dynamic regulation of the pT{alpha} gene expression during T cell development have not been investigated. We analyzed the pT{alpha} promoter region and determined crucial regulatory elements within the pT{alpha} promoter for pT{alpha} gene transcription. The results indicate that the E-box elements of the promoter region play a greater role in the pT{alpha} gene expression than the enhancer, and that E2A-HEB is the main regulator of the pT{alpha} gene expression. We present a discussion concerning a dynamic mechanism of transcriptional regulation of the pT{alpha} gene along with early T cell development.


    Materials and Methods
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Cells

The immature thymocyte cell lines KKF, Scid.adh-TAC:E, and SCB.29 and the mature T cell clone 23-1-8 (keyhole limpet hemocyanin specific and I-Ak restricted) have been described previously (12, 13, 14, 15). 2B4 is a pigeon cytochrome c-specific, I-Ek restricted murine T cell hybridoma (16). Total thymocytes and splenic T cells were isolated from C57BL/6. CD4+CD8- (SP) and CD4-CD8- (DN) thymocytes were purified using magnetic beads and MACS separation columns (Miltenyi Biotec, Auburn, CA).

Antibodies

Anti-E2A (V-18) polyclonal Ab and anti-HEB (A-20) polyclonal Abs were purchased from Santa Cruz Biotechnology (Santa Cruz, CA).

Constructs

The 129/SvJ mouse genomic library was screened for the 5' flanking region of the pT{alpha} gene with the cDNA probe of the 5' terminal fragment. These sequencing data were consistent with those reported previously (17). The pT{alpha} promoter-luciferase fusion plasmids containing the 5' sequential deletions in the promoter were constructed by using PCR. The promoter sequences were synthesized by PCR with 5' primers containing the NheI recognition site and 3' primers fused to the XhoI site. PCR products were cleaved with NheI and XhoI and inserted into the NheI and XhoI site upstream of the luciferase cDNA of pGV-B.

The fragment containing the putative pT{alpha} enhancer region (10) was amplified by PCR from genomic DNA and inserted in the upstream of the pT{alpha} promoter region. The following primers were used for PCR: 5'-TGGGTCACCAAGCCAGC (enhancer sense primer) and anti-5'-GGCCACTTTCCTGCCC (enhancer antisense primer). Full-length cDNAs encoding inhibitor of differentiation (Id-1), Id-2, E2A (E12), and HEB were cloned into the pRC-CMV expression vector and used for transient expression in T cells.

Transient transfection and luciferase assay

KKF and 2B4 cells were transfected with 30 µg of pT{alpha} promoter-luciferase constructs and 1 µg of thymidine kinase Renilla-luciferase (tk-luc) by electroporation at 950 µF and 350 V. Reporter gene analysis was performed 18 h after transfection. The luciferase activity associated with each construct was normalized on the basis of tk-luc activity.

EMSAs

Nuclear extracts were prepared according to the procedure of Andrews and Faller (18). The samples were dialyzed against HEPES buffer (20 mM HEPES (pH 7.9), 100 mM KCl, 12.5 mM MgCl2, 1 mM EDTA, 20% (v/v) glycerol, 2 mM DTT, and 0.5 mM PMSF). A combination of 0.5 fmol of 32P-labeled oligonucleotide and nuclear cell extract (5 µg of protein) were incubated at 0°C for 30 min in a 10-µl of reaction mixture (20 mM HEPES buffer (pH 7.9), 100 mM KCl, 12.5 mM MgCl2, 1 mM EDTA, 20% (v/v) glycerol, 2 mM DTT, 0.5 mM PMSF, and 1 µg of poly(dI-dC)-poly(dI-dC)) in the presence or absence of unlabeled oligonucleotide. DNA protein complexes were resolved by electrophoresis on 5% polyacrylamide gels at 4°C for 2.5 h at 120 V in TGE buffer (25 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.0), 192 mM glycine, and 2 mM EDTA). Radioactive bands were visualized by bioimage analyzer (BAS2000 FUJIFILM, Tokyo, Japan).

Supershift assay

A combination of 0.5 fmol of 32P-labeled oligonucleotide and nuclear cell extract (5 µg of protein) were incubated at 0°C for 30 min in a 10-µl reaction mixture. After incubation, anti-E2A or anti-HEB Abs (5–10 µg) were added and further incubated for 1 h. DNA protein complexes were resolved by electrophoresis on 3.5% polyacrylamide gels.

Cell enrichment and immunoblotting

KKF cells were transiently cotransfected with E2A or HEB expression vectors along with pMX-GFP by electroporation as described above. Cells expressing E2A or HEB were separated from the nontransfected cells by sorting green fluorescent protein (GFP)-expressing cells using a cell sorter (FACStar; BD Biosciences, Mountain View, CA). The populations enriched for GFP expression were lysed in a sample buffer and boiled for 5 min. A standard protocol for Western blotting was used; proteins were separated by SDS-PAGE, transferred to Immobilon-P (Millipore, Bedford, MA) membrane, and incubated with anti-E2A or anti-HEB Abs, respectively. Proteins were visualized by HRP-conjugated secondary Abs and a SuperSignal system (Pierce, Rockford, IL).


    Results
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Identification of transcriptional regulatory elements within the pT{alpha} promoter region

To analyze regulatory elements within the pT{alpha} promoter region, the 5' flanking region of the pT{alpha} gene was isolated and the 1500-bp nucleotide sequence was determined from the transcription initiation site. Various reporter plasmids were constructed by fusing the 5' sequential deletions of the promoter region with the luciferase cDNA and attaching it to the pT{alpha} enhancer (10) at the 5' end to analyze the function of the endogenous promoter and enhancer. EP1500, EP480, and EP180 contain the sequence from the transcription initiation site to -1500, -480, and -180, respectively. A pT{alpha}-positive cell line, KKF, and a negative cell line, 2B4, were transfected with these reporter plasmids and the luciferase activity was determined (Fig. 1Go). For all reporter plasmids, luciferase activity was detected in KKF cells but not in 2B4 cells in which a control plasmid showed similar activity (as shown in the figure legend). Although EP480 and EP180 showed similar promoter activities, the activity of EP1500 was much lower than that of the others, suggesting that the sequence between -480 and -1500 may contain unidentified negative regulatory element(s). These results suggest that an important transcriptional regulatory element of pT{alpha} gene exists within the first 180 bp of the promoter region when the pT{alpha} enhancer element is present.



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FIGURE 1. Analysis of the pT{alpha} promoter region. The 5' sequential deletion derivatives of the pT{alpha} promoter were fused to luciferase cDNA in the presence of the pT{alpha} enhancer. Both KKF and 2B4 cells (1 x 107) were transfected with 30 µg of the indicated constructs. Luciferase activities were normalized with tk-luc activities and presented as the ratio against the value of EP1500 in 2B4.

 
Involvement of E-box elements in activation of the pT{alpha} promoter

The sequence of the pT{alpha} promoter region demonstrated that the region between -1 and -180 contains specificity protein 1 (Sp1), GATA-1/2, Ikaros-2, and E-box motifs. We then investigated the requirement of these motifs for pT{alpha} gene expression by preparing several reporter constructs with deletion of each motif within the promoter region in the presence of the enhancer as shown in Fig. 2GoA. These constructs were introduced into KKF cells and the luciferase activity was measured (Fig. 2GoA). Although deletion of the Ikaros-2 site (EP180 {Delta}I) did not alter the activity, the reporter plasmid EP180 {Delta}SG lacking both Sp1 and GATA sites exhibited reduction of approximately half of the activity compared with the intact EP180. However, because the pT{alpha} promoter activity was not induced by cotransfection of the expression vectors of Sp1 or GATA1/2 along with EP180, Sp1 and GATA-1/2 had any significant effect on the pT{alpha} promoter activity by themselves (data not shown). In contrast, EP180 {Delta}E, from which the E-box elements are deleted, showed approximately one-tenth the activity as that of EP180.



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FIGURE 2. E-box elements are crucial for the activation of the pT{alpha} promoter. A, Various reporter constructs with deleted transcriptional regulator-binding motifs in the pT{alpha} promoter region. KKF cells were transfected with 30 µg of each of the reporter vectors. Luciferase activity was normalized with tk-luc activity. B, Overexpression of Ids suppresses the pT{alpha} promoter activity. KKF cells were transfected with EP180 along with various Id expression vectors (Id-1, Id-2, and each truncated mutant lacking the HLH domain). C, Base substitutions were introduced into each E-box element of EP180 as indicated. Luciferase activities were shown relative to EP180 constructs. E, E-box; S, Sp1; Y, YY1; I, Ikaros; G, GATA-1/2.

 
bHLH transcription factors are known to bind to the E-box consensus sequence as homo- or heterodimers. Furthermore, it has been shown that Id proteins also heterodimerize with bHLH proteins through their HLH domains and inhibit the DNA binding by bHLH proteins (19). To analyze the function of bHLH transcription factors on pT{alpha} gene expression, KKF was transfected with the expression vectors of Id along with EP180 (Fig. 2GoB). Overexpression of Id-1 or Id-2 significantly suppressed luciferase activity. In contrast, introduction of the truncated mutants of Id-1 and Id-2 lacking the HLH domains (Id-1 {Delta}HLH and Id-2 {Delta}HLH) showed almost the same level of activity as that of mock transfection. Along with a previous report that overexpression of Id-3 down-regulates pT{alpha} mRNA (20), these results strongly suggest that the E-box elements play a crucial role in the induction of the pT{alpha} promoter activity through the binding of bHLH transcription factors.

The pT{alpha} enhancer region also contains three (nonconsecutive) E-box elements. To dissect the requirement of E-box sites in the enhancer and promoter regions, base substitutions were introduced into all E-box elements in the enhancer of EP180 (EmP180) and transcriptional activity was examined (Fig. 2GoC). Similar to the results in Fig. 2GoA, EP180 {Delta}E showed approximately one-tenth the activity of EP180. In contrast, EmP180 exhibited approximately one-fifth the activity as that of EP180. These data demonstrate that activation of the pT{alpha} gene is regulated by E-box elements in both the enhancer and promoter regions and that the latter may to contribute more strongly to luciferase activity. From these results, we analyzed the regulatory mechanism in the promoter region in greater detail.

DNA protein complexes formed at E-box elements in the pT{alpha} promoter

To analyze the DNA protein complexes formed at E-box elements in the pT{alpha} promoter region, we performed EMSAs. The oligonucleotide E, corresponding to the sequence between -60 and -29 of the pT{alpha} promoter, contains two tandem E-box elements, the upstream E-box element (u-E), and the downstream E-box element (d-E) (Fig. 3GoA). The complex formations in the presence or absence of the oligonucleotide competitors were analyzed (Fig. 3GoB). Using the oligonucleotide E as a probe, several DNA protein complexes were detected (Fig. 3GoB, lane 2). Because only the slowly migrating band (Fig. 3GoB, arrowhead) disappeared in the presence of the same unlabeled E oligonucleotide (lane 3), this complex appeared to be specific for this probe. When oligonucleotides with base substitution of 5' E-box (u-Em) or 3' E-box (d-Em) were used as competitors, the formation of this complex was strongly inhibited by u-Em (Fig. 3GoB, lane 4), but only weak competition was observed by d-Em (lane 5). When the oligonucleotide bore both mutations, ud-Em was unable to block the formation of this complex (Fig. 3GoB, lane 6). These results demonstrated that the specific E protein complex was preferentially formed with the downstream E-box element of the pT{alpha} promoter.



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FIGURE 3. EMSAs of complexes formed with the promoter sequence containing the E-box elements. A, The oligonucleotide sequence of wild type and mutated E-box. The oligonucleotide E, corresponding to the sequence between -60 and -29 of the pT{alpha} promoter, contains two tandem E-box elements, the upstream E-box (u-E) and the downstream E-box (d-E). Base substitutions were introduced into each (u-Em, d-Em) or both (ud-Em) E-box elements. B, The complexes were formed with 32P-labeled oligonucleotide E and nuclear extract prepared from KKF cells in the presence or absence of 100-fold of unlabeled oligonucleotide as indicated above each lane. Specific complex for this probe is indicated by arrowhead. C, E protein complex formation using nuclear extracts from various developmental stages of T cells. Nuclear extract from pT{alpha}-positive cells (KKF, Scid.adh-TAC:E, and total thymocytes) and pT{alpha}-negative cells (SP thymocytes, splenic T cells, and 23-1-8 T cell clone) were incubated with labeled E-box elements from the pT{alpha} promoter in the presence or absence of 100-fold of unlabeled oligonucleotide. KKF extract was added as the control for the E protein complex (lane 2 of each panel). Filled arrowheads, The same complex as shown in B. Open arrowheads, Different complexes observed in mature T cells. D, E protein complex formation using nuclear extracts from DN thymocytes. Arrowhead, The same complex as shown in B.

 
Next, we examined whether the complex formation is specific for any differentiation stage of T cells using nuclear extracts from various thymocytes and T cells (Fig. 3GoC). The same E-box protein complex was observed using the nuclear extracts from the immature cell line Scid.adh-TAC:E and total thymocytes as the pT{alpha}-expressing cells (Fig. 3GoC, filled arrowheads). In contrast, this complex was not detected in the extracts from isolated CD4+ SP thymocytes, splenic T cells, and Th1 clone 23-1-8 as pT{alpha}-negative mature T cells. In the analysis of mature T cell extracts, KKF extract was added as the control for the immature E protein complex (filled arrowhead at lane 2 of each panel). DN thymocytes were also analyzed as bulk population containing pT{alpha}-expressing cells. Similar to the two pT{alpha}-expressing cell lines, the specific E-box protein complex was detected (Fig. 3GoD, arrowhead). These results demonstrate that the specific complex with the E-box elements of the pT{alpha} promoter was formed only in immature thymocytes in parallel with the pT{alpha} gene expression, and thus strongly suggest that the DNA protein complex formed with the E-box elements plays an essential role in the activation of the pT{alpha} promoter. Furthermore, it was noted that a distinct complex with the same E-box-containing region was detected using nuclear extracts from SP thymocytes, splenic T cells, and T cell clones (Fig. 3GoC, open arrowheads). This complex disappeared in the presence of the competitor E but was not restored by the addition of either or both E-box-mutated competitors (u-E, d-E, or ud-E), indicating that the complex may be formed through a unique binding of bHLH and E-box elements. This complex appeared to become more prominent along with T cell maturation, suggesting that this complex in mature cells might function as a negative regulator of pT{alpha} expression.

Both E2A and HEB are involved in the complex formed at E-box elements of the pT{alpha} promoter

Several E proteins have been implicated to play roles in multiple aspects of lymphoid development (21). It was reported that E2A and HEB DNA-binding complexes in thymocytes may play a role in thymocyte differentiation using a transgenic system (22, 23), and, furthermore, it was recently suggested that these complexes are involved in regulating the pT{alpha} enhancer (11). To identify the specific E proteins in the E-box elements of the promoter region, we examined the involvement of E2A and HEB in the binding to the elements by EMSA using Abs specific for E2A or HEB. As shown in Fig. 4Go, supershifted bands of the complex containing E2A and HEB specific for the E-box elements in the promoter were clearly observed by the addition of anti-E2A and anti-HEB Abs, respectively. These results suggest that the E2A and HEB may form a complex within the E-box elements of the pT{alpha} promoter region. The observation that whereas the complex was completely supershifted by anti-E2A Ab but only partly budged by anti-HEB Ab suggests that E2A associates also with an E-box protein other than HEB to regulate the pT{alpha} promoter.



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FIGURE 4. The E protein complex formation at the E-box elements in supershift analyses with anti-E2A and HEB Abs. The complexes were formed by incubating the 32P-labeled oligonucleotide E and the nuclear extract prepared from KKF cells in the presence of graded doses of anti-E2A, anti-HEB (5 and 10 µg), or rabbit-IgG (10 µg) as a negative control. The complexes were analyzed on 3.5% acrylamide gel. Specific complex is indicated by an arrowhead and the supershifted complexes by anti-E2A and anti-HEB Abs are indicated by filled and open arrows, respectively.

 
E2A-HEB activates pT{alpha} gene expression

Since we found the specific interaction of E2A and HEB at the E-box elements of the pT{alpha} promoter, we investigated whether the expression of E2A and HEB indeed induces pT{alpha} gene expression. For this purpose, KKF cells were transiently transfected with EP180, EP180 {Delta}E, or EmP180 in combination with the expression plasmid of E2A and/or HEB (Fig. 5GoA). For EP180, while E2A induced strong transcriptional activity of pT{alpha}, HEB appeared to have a minimal effect by itself, although a sufficient amount of HEB protein was expressed (Fig. 5GoC, right panel). However, the coexpression of E2A and HEB showed a significant, although weak, augmentation of the activity compared with transfection of E2A alone, suggesting a synergistic effect of E2A and HEB for pT{alpha} expression. Similar function of E2A and HEB on the transcriptional augmentation of pT{alpha} was observed in a different pT{alpha}-expressing SCID cell line, SCB.29, by transfection of E2A and HEB (Fig. 5GoA). When the E-box deletion mutant of the pT{alpha} promoter (EP180 {Delta}E) was used, the enhancement by E2A and HEB was severely reduced. In contrast, E2A and coexpression of HEB enhanced the luciferase activity when the enhancer mutant (EmP180) was used (Fig. 5GoB). Importantly, comparing EP180 {Delta}E and EmP180, the pT{alpha}-luc activity by E2A (and HEB) was much stronger with EmP180 than with EP180 {Delta}E. These results strongly suggest that E2A and HEB are involved in the pT{alpha} gene transcriptional activation and that the E-box elements in the promoter region may have stronger effects on pT{alpha} gene expression than those of the enhancer.



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FIGURE 5. Overexpression of E2A and HEB activates pT{alpha} gene expression. A, KKF cells and SCB.29 cells were transfected with EP180 alone (mock) or along with expression constructs. Luciferase activities were normalized with tk-luc activities and presented as the ratio against the value of EP180 along with mock in KKF. B, KKF cells were transfected with the indicated reporter vectors (EP180, EP180 {Delta}E, and EmP180) along with vector alone (mock) or expression constructs of E2A and/or HEB. Luciferase activities were normalized and presented as the ratio against the value of EP180 in conjunction with mock. The data represent three independent experiments. C, Significant amounts of E2A and HEB were expressed in the transfected cells. KKF cells were transfected in the same condition as A and B with the expressible constructs of E2A and HEB along with pMX-GFP for the purpose of cell sorting instead of the reporter gene in the case of A. In each case, 5 x 104 of GFP+ cells (>90% purity) were collected by sorting and total cell lysates of the GFP+ cells were blotted with anti-E2A or anti-HEB, respectively.

 

    Discussion
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
In the present study, we isolated the pT{alpha} promoter region and demonstrated that the consecutive E-box elements, located at positions -60 to -29, were essential for pT{alpha} gene expression, in addition to the enhancer region. The observation that cotransfection of Ids inhibited luciferase activity supports the notion of the involvement of E proteins in pT{alpha} gene expression and may suggest that the Id-mediated blockade of T cell development may be attributed to the inhibition of bHLH factors from binding to the E-box elements within the pT{alpha} promoter. We then identified two bHLH proteins, E2A and HEB, as the major responsible transcription factors regulating the promoter activity of pT{alpha} through binding to the tandem E-box elements.

Various bHLH proteins have been demonstrated to play key roles in a wide array of developmental processes (22). Mice deficient for E2A or HEB as well as transgenic mice overexpressing Id proteins showed a reduction of thymocyte cellularity and blockade of immature T cell development (7, 8, 9, 20, 24, 25). Very recently, it was suggested that the enhancer regions of pT{alpha} and CD4 may be targets of E2A and HEB in immature thymocytes (6, 11). However, the DNA protein complex formation of these E proteins and the molecular mechanism of the developmental regulation of pT{alpha} gene expression have not yet been analyzed precisely. We succeeded in analyzing three aspects of the molecular mechanism for pT{alpha} gene expression: 1) developmental regulation of E-box binding complexes; 2) identification of E proteins for regulating the pT{alpha} promoter; and 3) comparison of the contribution of E-box elements in the promoter and enhancer for transcription of the pT{alpha} gene.

We identified the consecutive E-box elements within the pT{alpha} promoter region as the most important elements for pT{alpha} gene expression, and we detected specific interacting proteins by EMSA. We found that the consecutive E-box elements indeed form a complex mainly with two bHLH transcription factors, E2A and HEB. It was further demonstrated that the protein complex in these tandem E-box elements of the pT{alpha} gene dynamically changes along with T cell differentiation. Assembly with E2A and HEB was only observed in pT{alpha}-expressing cells but not in pT{alpha}-negative mature cells such as SP thymocytes and splenic T cells. However, instead of the E2A-HEB complex, a new complex was observed using extracts from these mature T cells. From competition assays, it was revealed that this new complex recognizes the sequence -60 to -29 of the pT{alpha} promoter region but not the E-box elements themselves. Thus, it is probable that this complex might consist of yet unknown protein(s) and a DNA-binding motif. This distinct interaction may compete with E2A-HEB and then suppress E2A-HEB-mediated pT{alpha} gene transcription at the mature stage of T cell development.

The identification of E2A and HEB as the binding molecules of the consecutive E-box elements of the pT{alpha} promoter was further confirmed by functional analysis. Overexpression of E2A induced the pT{alpha} promoter activity and cotransfection with HEB further augmented the activity, although HEB alone minimally regulates the activity. It has been suggested that the E2A-HEB heterodimer is a major bHLH dimer in thymocytes whereas the E2A homodimer is predominant in B cells. Thus, it is possible that the E2A-HEB heterodimer predominantly binds to the E-box elements of the pT{alpha} promoter in vivo. Along with the fact that HEB is most abundant in thymus and lymphoid cells through ubiquitous tissue distribution (26), E2A may be a limiting factor and the introduction of E2A alone may induce transcriptional activation. In addition, HEB augmented the response minimally, which is consistent with results in the Ab-induced supershift assay. Furthermore, although the expression level of pT{alpha} mRNA was decreased in DN thymocytes of HEB-deficient mice, significant expression of pT{alpha} was noted (11). These results also suggest that an E protein other than HEB may form a dimmer with E2A to regulate pT{alpha} transcription.

Since the pT{alpha} enhancer has three E-box elements, we compared the contribution of each E-box element in the promoter and the enhancer to understand the overall regulatory mechanism of pT{alpha} expression. E2A or E2A-HEB expression showed stronger transcriptional activity for the pT{alpha} construct with the mutated E-box of the enhancer than the E-box mutant of the promoter. This result suggests that the E-box elements in the promoter play a more profound role in pT{alpha} gene expression than those in the enhancer.

It should be especially stressed that the pT{alpha} promoter region has two consecutive E-box elements. It was recently reported that the complex composed of stem cell leukemia (SCL), one of the bHLH proteins, and LIM-only protein (LMO) 1/2, non-DNA-binding zinc finger-like proteins, inhibits E2A-HEB function and that one of the target genes of SCL-LMO1/2 was functionally suggested to be pT{alpha} (11). On the other hand, Grutz et al. (27) found, using a CASTing assay, that SCL-LMO2 binds to a bipartite DNA motif comprising two consecutive E-box elements in the early stage of DN thymocytes. Because the pT{alpha} enhancer does not contain such consecutive E-box elements, it is most likely that the SCL-LMO complex binds to the consecutive E-box elements of the pT{alpha} promoter region and represses the expression of the pT{alpha} gene during early stage of DN thymocytes.

Together with our results, the picture of a dynamic regulation of pT{alpha} gene expression along with T cell differentiation has now emerged. In most early thymocyte development at the stages of DN1 and DN2, the SCL-LMO complex dominates and suppresses the expression of pT{alpha} by competing with the binding to the E-box elements, possibly in the promoter region. In the stage of DN3 and DN4, SLC-LMO is turned off and the expression of E2A-HEB dominates, resulting in the induction of pT{alpha} gene expression. When T cell development progresses further to SP and mature T cells, a new complex emerges and may compete with E2A-HEB. The decrease of the expression of E2A and HEB as well as this competition shut down the pT{alpha} promoter activity. To complete this scenario for the transcriptional regulation of the pT{alpha} expression and T cell development, several issues such as direct association of SCL-LMO to the tandem E-boxes in the promoter and the identification of the new complex assembled with the pT{alpha} promoter in mature T cells have to be solved.


    Acknowledgments
 
We thank Yoshifumi Yokota for providing E2A (E12) and HEB cDNAs, Shinsuke Taki for discussion, Ritsuko Shiina and Machie Sakuma for technical assistance, and Hiroko Yamaguchi for secretarial assistance.


    Footnotes
 
1 This work was supported by grants-in-aid for scientific research from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture and a grant from the Human Frontier Scientific Program. Back

2 Current address: Division of Molecular Membrane Biology, Cancer Research Institute, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takaramachi, Kanazawa 920-0934, Japan. Back

3 Current address: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, 152 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94143. Back

4 Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Takashi Saito, Department of Molecular Genetics, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-8-1 Inohana, Chuo-ku, Chiba 260-8670, Japan. E-mail address: saito{at}med.m.chiba-u.ac.jp Back

5 Abbreviations used in this paper: pT{alpha}, pre-TCR{alpha}; HEB, HeLa E-box binding protein; DN, double negative, SP, single positive, bHLH, basic helix-loop-helix; GFP, green fluorescent protein; Sp1, specificity protein 1; Id, inhibitor of differentiation; SCL, stem cell leukemia; LMO, LIM-only protein; tk-luc, thymidine kinase Renilla-luciferase. Back

Received for publication February 12, 2001. Accepted for publication June 19, 2001.


    References
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 

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