The Journal of Immunology, 2002, 168: 3369-3375.
Copyright © 2002 by The American Association of Immunologists
Bob1 (OCA-B/OBF-1) Differential Transactivation of the B Cell-Specific B29 (Ig
) and mb-1 (Ig
) Promoters1
Cindy Sue Malone and
Randolph Wall2
Department of Microbiology and Immunology and Molecular Biology Institute, University of California School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 90095
 |
Abstract
|
|---|
The B29 (Ig
) and mb-1 (Ig
) gene
products are B cell-specific essential components of the B cell
receptor that are coexpressed at all stages of B cell differentiation,
with the exception of plasma cells, which lack mb-1
expression. Transcription of both genes is governed by a similar
cassette of interactive transcription factor-binding elements,
including octamer motifs, in TATA-less promoters. In this study, we
show the B cell-specific B29 gene promoter is
transactivated in B and non-B cells by cotransfection with the B
cell-specific octamer cofactor gene, Bob1 (OCA-B/OBF-1). The expression
of Bob1 is also sufficient to override the silencing effects of the
B29 silencer. This indicates that Bob1 plays a critical
role in B cell-specific B29 promoter expression. In
contrast, coexpression of Bob1 had no effect on mb-1
promoter activity. Bob1 transactivation only occurs with select octamer
sequences that have an adenosine at position 5 (ATGCAAAT). The
B29 promoter conforms to this consensus octamer motif,
while the mb-1 promoter octamer motif does not. Octamer
motif swapping between B29 and mb-1
promoters renders B29 unresponsive to Bob1
transactivation and makes mb-1 competent for Bob1
transactivation, thereby indicating that the B29 octamer
motif is solely responsible for Bob1 interaction. Additionally, the
mb-1 construct containing the B29 octamer
motif is expressed in a plasmacytoma cell line, while the wild-type
mb-1 promoter is not. Bob1 transactivation of
B29 and the lack of this transactivation of
mb-1 account for the differential expression of
B29 and mb-1 in terminally differentiated
plasma cells.
 |
Introduction
|
|---|
Bob1
(OCA-B, OBF-1) (1, 2, 3, 4) is a B cell-specific coactivator of
the octamer family members, Oct-1 and Oct-2 (1, 5).
While Oct-1 and Oct-2 bind a variety of octamer motifs, the
Bob1-Oct-1/Oct-2 complex binds only a select subset of these motifs.
Bob1 interaction with Oct-1/Oct-2 and DNA (Bob1-POU-DNA complex) is
dependent on the octamer motif sequence, specifically containing an
adenine at position 5 of the octamer motif (ATGCAAAT). Octamer
motifs containing a thymine at position 5 do not recruit the
Bob1-POU-DNA ternary complex (6, 7). In contrast, octamer
motifs that contain an adenine at position 5, but also contain a
thymine at position 6 (ATGCATAT) do not recruit the Bob1-POU-DNA
ternary complex (8). Furthermore, only a subset of the
Bob1-POU-bound promoters is actually transactivated by this
interaction. There are conflicting reports as to whether the 5' and 3'
sequences flanking the octamer motif affect or influence the
Bob1-POU-DNA complex (7, 8). Additionally, the TATA
element in the promoters of Bob1-transactivated genes has been
implicated as a contributing element in the action of the Bob1-Oct-1/2
complex (1).
Bob1 is essential for normal patterns of Ig expression such that
Bob1-/- mice are crippled in their Ag-dependent
responses, but show normal Ag-independent responses. Hence, Bob1 is
dispensable for normal, Ag-independent B cell differentiation and B
cell receptor gene expression, but is essential for Ag-dependent
maturation of B cells. Specifically, the proliferative response to
surface IgM cross-linking is severely impaired, as is the production of
secondary Ig isotypes due to the reduced levels of transcription from
normally switched Ig H chain loci (9, 10, 11).
The B29 (Ig
) gene is strictly B cell specific and
expressed at all stages of B cell differentiation (12).
The mb-1 gene is also B cell specific and is expressed at
all stages of B cell development, except the plasma cell stage
(13). The products of the B29 and
mb-1 genes are essential components of the B cell receptor
and play critical roles in B cell development (reviewed in Refs.
14, 15, 16). Both B29 and mb-1 gene
transcription is controlled by TATA-less promoters containing almost
identical cassettes of interactive transcription factor-binding
elements that collectively impart B cell-specific expression, including
essential octamer motifs (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23). Additionally, the
B29 promoter activity is modulated by three upstream
silencer elements; FROG, TOAD, and the A + T-rich octamer-binding motif
that coordinately act to govern B29 gene expression
(24, 25). In this study, we show that the B29
promoter is transactivated in B and non-B cells by concomitant
expression of the octamer cofactor gene, Bob1. We also show that the
mb-1 promoter is not transactivated by Bob1 under identical
conditions. This differential responsiveness was shown to be controlled
by the octamer motifs in the two promoters. Together, these data
suggest a role for Bob1 in determining the differential expression of
B29 and mb-1 in plasma cells.
 |
Materials and Methods
|
|---|
Cell culture conditions
All cell lines were propagated in RPMI 1640 supplemented with
sodium pyruvate (Life Technologies, Gaithersburg, MD), nonessential
amino acids (Life Technologies), 50 µM 2-ME (Sigma-Aldrich, St.
Louis, MO), 5 mM glutamine (Sigma-Aldrich), and 5% FCS (Gemini
Scientific, Tarzana, CA).
Plasmid construction and mutagenesis
B29 promoter constructs were B29 promoters
introduced into pCAT basic (Promega, Madison, WI), as described
(17, 24, 25, 26) or B29 promoters from -164
to +32 in relation to the start of transcription introduced into
SacI-HindIII of pGL3 basic (Promega).
mb-1 promoter constructs were mb-1 promoters
introduced into pCAT basic (Promega), as described (26),
or mb-1 promoters from -252 to +48 in relation to the start
of transcription introduced into HindIII of pGL3 basic
(Promega). Bob1 construct (27) was kindly provided by M.
Peterlin (San Francisco, CA). Mutagenesis of the B29
and mb-1 octamer motifs was performed with the Quik Change
kit (Stratagene, La Jolla, CA), as described (17, 24, 25, 26).
Octamer motif swapping between B29 and mb-1 was
performed by mutagenesis using the Quik Change kit (Stratagene) and the
following oligonucleotides and their complements:
5'-GGGTCTCAATTTGCCATGGCAGGAAG-3'-B29 and
5'-GCCCACACATATGCAAATAAAGGGCC-3'-mb-1.
Transfections, CAT assays, and luciferase assays
M12 B cell line was transfected by the DEAE-dextran method, as
described (28), using 5 µg chloramphenicol
acetyltransferase
(CAT)3 plasmid and 5
µg pRSV-luciferase plasmid, or 10 µg pGL3 plasmid and 5 µg pRL
SV40 plasmid. BW5147 T cell and J558L plasmacytoma cell lines were
transfected by electroporation, as described (29), using 5
µg CAT plasmid and 5 µg pRSV-luciferase plasmid, or 10 µg pGL3
plasmid and 5 µg pRL SV40 plasmid. NIH 3T3 fibroblast cell line was
transfected by the SuperFect (Stratagene) method using 5 µg CAT
plasmid, and 5 µg pRSV-luciferase. Bob1 construct (27)
was used in transfections as 5, 10, or 20 µg, as described in the
figures. Total amounts of DNA transfected were equalized by the
addition of pBluescript in samples that do not include Bob1 expression
construct DNA. All transfections were harvested 4048 h
posttransfection. For pCAT constructs, extracts were prepared and CAT
assays were performed, as described previously (17), with
the exception of quantification by PhosphorImager (Molecular Dynamics,
Sunnyvale, CA) analysis. Results were normalized to pRSV-luciferase
values. For pGL3 constructs, dual luciferase assays were performed as
described in the Dual Luciferase Reporter Assay System (Promega). All
transfection values are ± SD of at least three transfections
using at least two preparations of DNA. Values of p were
calculated by the Student two-sided t test.
EMSA
Oct-1 and Oct-2 in vitro translate was prepared using the
TNT quick coupled reticulocyte lysate system (Promega). EMSA was
preformed as described (17) using 2 µl in vitro
translate. EMSA probes were double-stranded oligonucleotides 5' end
labeled with [
-32P]ATP and purified by
Microspin G25 columns (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech, Piscataway, NJ).
EMSA complementary double-stranded oligonucleotide probes were as
follows: 5'-CCTGCCATGCAAATTGAGAC-3' (B29OCT);
5'-CCTGCCATGCAAcgTGAGAC-3' (B29mOCT);
5'-CCTGCCATGgCAAATTGAGAC-3' (B29(mb-1OCT));
5'-CCACACATATGGCAAATAAAGGGCC-3' (mb-1OCT);
5'-CCACACATATGGCAAgcAAAGGGCC-3' (mb-1 mOCT); and
5'-CCACACATATGCAAATAAAGGGCC-3' (mb-1(B29OCT)). Underlines
represent octamer consensus.
 |
Results
|
|---|
Ectopic expression of Bob1 specifically increases activity of the
B29 promoter through the octamer motif in B cells
B29 promoter activity is dependent on a functional
octamer motif, as there is significantly reduced transcriptional
activity from the B29 minimal promoter when this site is
destroyed by mutagenesis (17). This critical
B29 octamer motif matches the consensus for Oct-1/2-Bob1-DNA
ternary complex formation because it contains the essential "A" in
position 5 of the octamer consensus (6, 7).
Transient transfections of M12 B cells with the wild-type
B29 promoter (-164) and the B29 -164 promoter
with a mutated octamer motif (-164 mOCT) were compared with transient
transfections of the identical constructs along with increasing
concentrations of a Bob1 expression construct. Fig. 1
A shows that the addition of
Bob1 significantly increased (up to 10-fold) the expression of the
wild-type B29 (-164) in B cells (p
< 0.05) but did not affect the expression of the variant
B29 (-164 mOCT) construct that cannot interact with octamer
factors (17). These data suggest that the Bob1
transactivation effect is exerted specifically through the octamer
motif in the B29 -164 promoter.

View larger version (28K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
|
FIGURE 1. Bob1 transactivates the B29 promoter (-164) in B
cells, T cells, and fibroblasts. Transient transfections of
B29 promoter constructs with and without cotransfection
of Bob1 were conducted in the M12 B cell line (A),
BW5147 T cell line (B), and NIH 3T3 fibroblast cell line
(C). The activity of each construct is expressed as the
fold activation over the promoterless pCAT basic construct. Increasing
amounts of Bob1 expression construct (5, 10, and 20 µg) were added to
transient transfections of the B29 promoter (-164) and
the B29 promoter with a mutated octamer motif (-164
mOCT), as indicated. CAT activities are RSV-luciferase normalized and
are the average ± SD of at least four independent transfections
using two preparations of DNA. A, The -164 value was
significantly higher than pCAT basic by the Student two-sided
t test (p < 0.001). Values
significantly higher than -164 are denoted by an asterisk. For
-164/Bob 5 µg, p < 0.001; for -164/Bob 10
µg, p < 0.002; and for -164/Bob 20 µg,
p < 0.05. Values for -164 mOCT/Bob 5 µg, -164
mOCT/Bob 10 µg, and -164 mOCT/Bob 20 µg were not significantly
higher than -164 mOCT (p > 0.05).
B, The -164 values were not significantly higher than
pCAT basic by the Student two-sided t test
(p > 0.05). Values significantly higher than -164
are denoted by an asterisk. For -164/Bob 5 µg, p
< 0.05; for -164/Bob 10 µg, p < 0.05; and for
-164/Bob 20 µg, p < 0.005. Values for -164
mOCT/Bob 5 µg, -164 mOCT/Bob 10 µg, and -164 mOCT/Bob 20 µg
were not significantly higher than -164 mOCT (p >
0.05). C, The -164 values were not significantly higher
than pCAT basic by the Student two-sided t test
(p > 0.05). Values significantly higher than -164
are denoted by an asterisk. For -164/Bob 5 µg, p
< 0.01; for -164/Bob 10 µg, p < 0.01; and for
-164/Bob 20 µg, p < 0.001. Values for -164
mOCT/Bob 5 µg, -164 mOCT/Bob 10 µg, and -164 mOCT/Bob 20 µg
were not significantly higher than -164 mOCT (p >
0.05).
|
|
Bob1 transactivates the B29 promoter specifically
through the octamer motif in non-B cells
We next asked whether the concordant expression of Bob1 could
transactivate the B29 promoter in non-B cells and break the
B cell specificity of the promoter. Fig. 1
, B and
C, shows that the inclusion of the Bob1 expression construct
significantly (up to 5-fold) increased expression of the wild-type
B29 (-164) promoter over its negligible expression in
transfections of BW5147 T cells and NIH 3T3 fibroblasts. Again, this
transactivation was octamer motif dependent, as the B29
octamer mutant (-164 mOCT) promoter showed no increase in activity
with the addition of Bob1 in T cells (Fig. 1
B) or
fibroblasts (Fig. 1
C).
Bob1 transactivation overrides the silencing effects of the TOAD,
FROG, and A + T-rich motifs in the B29 promoter
Expression from the B29 promoter was previously
shown to be governed by three independent, but cooperative upstream
silencer elements that function in B cells as well as in non-B cells
(24, 25). We used our cotransfection system to determine
whether Bob1 would transactivate B29 promoter constructs
containing the TOAD, FROG, and A + T-rich silencer elements. Fig. 2
shows the effects of Bob1 expression on
the B29 (-354) construct containing the TOAD silencer
element and the B29 (-565) construct containing the TOAD,
FROG, and A + T-rich silencer elements in comparison with these
constructs alone in M12 B cells (dark stippled bars). These results are
also directly compared with the effects of Bob1 on the wild-type
B29 promoter (-164) and on the B29 octamer
mutant (-164 mOCT) (Fig. 2
). Cotransfection of Bob1 with both the
B29 (-354) and (-565) silencer constructs resulted in a
significant increase in activity (Fig. 2
, compare -354 with -354/Bob;
and compare -565 with -565/Bob). These Bob1-transactivated promoter
activities (-354/Bob and -565/Bob) are not significantly different
from the B29 (-164) promoter construct (Fig. 2
).

View larger version (35K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
|
FIGURE 2. Bob1 transactivation overrides the silencing effects of the
B29 silencer elements in B and T cells. Transient
transfections of B29 promoter constructs with and
without cotransfection of Bob1 were conducted in the M12 B cell line
(dark hatched bars) and BW5147 T cell line (light hatched bars). The
activity of each construct is expressed as the fold activation over the
promoterless pCAT basic construct. A total of 10 µg Bob1 expression
construct was added to transient transfections of the
B29 promoter (-164), the B29 promoter
with a mutated octamer motif (-164 mOCT), the B29
promoter containing the TOAD silencer (-354), the B29
promoter containing the TOAD, FROG, and A + T-rich silencers (-565),
the B29 promoter containing the TOAD, FROG, and A +
T-rich silencers with a mutated octamer motif (-565 mOCT), and the
B29 promoter containing the TOAD, FROG, and A + T-rich
silencers with a mutated A + T-rich motif (-565 mA + T). CAT
activities are RSV-luciferase normalized and are the average ± SD
of at least six independent transfections using two preparations of
DNA. For the M12 B cell line, the -164 value was significantly higher
than pCAT basic by the Student two-sided t test
(p < 0.001). Values significantly higher than
their counterparts transfected without Bob1 are denoted by an asterisk.
For -164/Bob, p < 0.01; for -354/Bob,
p < 0.02; for -565/Bob, p <
0.001; and for -565 mA + T/Bob, p < 0.02. The
value for -565 mA + T was significantly higher than -565
(p < 0.001). For the BW5147 T cell line, the -164
value was not significantly higher than pCAT basic by the Student
two-sided t test (p > 0.05). Values
significantly higher than their counterparts transfected without Bob1
are denoted by an asterisk. For -164/Bob, p <
0.001; for -354/Bob, p < 0.05; for -565/Bob,
p < 0.001; and for -565 mA + T/Bob,
p < 0.02.
|
|
One of the 5' silencers, the B29 A + T-rich silencer
element, is a degenerate octamer motif and is bound by Oct-1 and Oct-2
(25). This degenerate octamer site does not fit the
classic octamer consensus motif, and therefore cannot be analyzed by
the Bob1 rules for interaction. We tested two different constructs to
illustrate that Bob1 did not transactivate through the A + T-rich
octamer motif. Fig. 2
shows that when the B29 (-164)
promoter octamer motif was mutated within the B29 (-565)
promoter construct (-565 mOCT), the addition of Bob1 expression
construct did not transactivate this construct. These data suggest that
the A + T-rich octamer motif alone was not sufficient for Bob1
transactivation of this construct. In contrast, the complementary
construct, wild-type B29 (-164) promoter octamer motif and
mutated A + T-rich octamer motif in the context of the B29
(-565) promoter (-565 mA + T), was transactivated by Bob1 to an
extent equivalent to the wild-type B29 (-565) construct
(Fig. 2
). These data show that Bob1 transactivation is not mediated
through the A + T-rich octamer motif. The B29 (-565)
promoter construct with both octamer sites mutated showed no
significant difference from the B29 (-164 mOCT) or the
B29 (-565 mOCT) promoter constructs when Bob1 expression
constructs were cotransfected (data not shown).
The identical constructs were transfected into BW5147 T cells to
determine whether the coexpression of Bob1 was sufficient to override
the B29 silencer element effects in T cells (Fig. 2
, light
hatched bars). Fig. 2
shows that Bob1 transactivated the B29
(-354) and B29 (-565) promoter constructs in T cells,
breaking the B cell specificity of the B29 promoter. These
levels of Bob1 transactivation are significantly less than the
transactivation seen with the B29 (-164) promoter (Fig. 2
).
Again, mutation of the B29 (-164) octamer motif in the
B29 (-565) promoter (-565 mOCT) did not allow
transactivation of this construct by Bob1, and mutation of the A +
T-rich octamer motif had no effect on the transactivation potential of
the B29 (-565) promoter (-565 mA + T) in T cells.
Bob1 does not transactivate mb-1 promoter activity
in either B or non-B cells
The mb-1 minimal promoter is strikingly similar to the
B29 -164 promoter (see Fig. 7
), and is also strongly
dependent on its octamer motif for maximal activity (26).
Unlike the B29 octamer motif, the mb-1 octamer
motif does not have the essential sequence required for Bob1
interaction. Specifically, the mb-1 octamer motif lacks an
adenine at position 5 of the octamer consensus (see Fig. 7
). We tested
the mb-1 promoter in our Bob1 transactivation system to
determine whether the mb-1 octamer motif would interact with
Bob1 and result in transactivation of the promoter. Fig. 3
shows that Bob1 did not transactivate
the mb-1 promoter in either B cells (M12 B cell line; Fig. 3
, dark hatched bars) or T cells (BW5147 T cell line; Fig. 3
, light
hatched bars) when increasing amounts of the Bob1 expression construct
were cotransfected with the wild-type mb-1 promoter
(mb-1) and mutant octamer mb-1 promoter
(mb-1 mOCT) constructs. In B cells, the wild-type
mb-1 promoter showed significant activity over pCAT basic,
while the addition of Bob1 did not show a significant increase in
expression of this construct (Fig. 3
). The mutant octamer
mb-1 promoter showed no significant activity above pCAT
basic, and the addition of Bob1 did not change the expression level
(Fig. 3
). In T cells, neither the wild-type mb-1 promoter
nor the mutant octamer mb-1 promoter showed activity above
pCAT basic (Fig. 3
). The addition of Bob1 to either of these constructs
did not result in any significant transactivation of these promoters
(Fig. 3
). These data are consistent with the rules for Bob1 interaction
and function, and suggest that in our system, Bob1 functions according
to its determined specificity.

View larger version (21K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
|
FIGURE 7. B29 and mb-1 promoter transcription
factor motif comparison. The identical transcription factors control
both B29 and mb-1 promoter activity, with
the exception of the recruitment of BSAP to the ETS site in the
mb-1 promoter and the differential usage of the Bob1
coactivator with the octamer motifs.
|
|

View larger version (34K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
|
FIGURE 3. Bob1 does not transactivate the mb-1 promoter (mb-1) in
B cells or T cells. Transient transfections of mb-1
promoter constructs with and without cotransfection of Bob1 were
conducted in the M12 B cell line (dark hatched bars) and the BW5147 T
cell line (light hatched bars). The activity of each construct is
expressed as the fold activation over the promoterless pCAT basic
construct. A total of 10 µg Bob1 expression construct was added to
transient transfections of the mb-1 minimal promoter
(mb-1) and the mb-1 minimal promoter with a mutated
octamer motif (mb-1 mOCT), as indicated. CAT activities are
RSV-luciferase normalized and are the average ± SD of at least
six independent transfections using two preparations of DNA. For the
M12 B cell line, the mb-1 value was significantly higher than pCAT
basic by the Student two-sided t test
(p < 0.001). The value for mb-1/Bob and mb-1
mOCT/Bob was not significantly different from their counterparts
transfected without Bob1 (p > 0.05 each). For the
BW5147 T cell line, the mb-1 value was not significantly higher than
pCAT basic by the Student two-sided t test
(p > 0.05). The value for mb-1/Bob and mb-1
mOCT/Bob was not significantly different from their counterparts
transfected without Bob1 (p > 0.05 each).
|
|
Bob1 differential transactivation of the B29 and
mb-1 promoters is dictated solely by the octamer
consensus sequence
Based on the inability of Bob1 to transactivate the
B29-mutated octamer site promoter (-164 mOCT) and the
mb-1 promoter (mb-1), we have demonstrated that
the Bob1 transactivation activity functions through the octamer
consensus sequence (Fig. 1
). In this study, we directly show that the
mb-1 9-bp octamer consensus sequence (ATGGCAAAT), when put
into the context of the B29 octamer site (-164(mb-1OCT)),
no longer allows Bob1 transactivation of B29 in either B or
T cells (Fig. 4
). In the same way, the
B29 8-bp octamer consensus sequence (ATGCAAAT), when put
into the context of the mb-1 octamer site (mb-1(B29OCT)),
confers Bob1 sensitivity and transactivation to mb-1 in both
B and T cells (Fig. 4
). These data also show that even though the
mb-1 octamer site is a functional octamer site based on
mutagenesis results (26), the B29 octamer
consensus when swapped with the mb-1 consensus
(mb-1(B29OCT)) confers more overall activity to the mb-1
promoter (Fig. 4
A). The opposite is true for mb-1
octamer site placed in the B29 promoter (-164(mb-1OCT))
(Fig. 4
A). In the context of the B29 sequences
(-164(mb-1OCT)), the mb-1 consensus does not appear to
function as an octamer motif, as the activity level is similar to that
seen for the B29-mutated octamer motif promoter (-164 mOCT)
(Fig. 4
A).

View larger version (29K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
|
FIGURE 4. Bob1 differential transactivation of the B29 and
mb-1 promoters is dictated solely by the octamer
consensus sequence in B cells and T cells. Transient transfections of
B29 and mb-1 promoter constructs with and
without cotransfection of Bob1 were conducted in the M12 B cell line
(A) and BW5147 T cell line (B). The
activity of each construct is expressed as the fold activation over the
promoterless pGL3 luciferase basic construct. A total of 10 µg Bob1
expression construct was added to transient transfections of the
B29 minimal promoter (-164), the B29
minimal promoter with a mutated octamer motif (-164 mOCT), the
B29 minimal promoter with the octamer motif replaced
with the mb-1 octamer consensus (-164(mb-1OCT)), the
mb-1 minimal promoter (mb-1), the mb-1
minimal promoter with a mutated octamer motif (mb-1 mOCT), and the
mb-1 minimal promoter with the octamer motif replaced
with the B29 octamer consensus (mb-1(B29OCT)), as
indicated. B29 and mb-1 promoter
luciferase construct values were pRL SV40 normalized and are the
average ± SD of at least four independent transfections using two
preparations of DNA. A, For the M12 B cell line -164
value and the mb-1 value were significantly higher than pGL3 basic by
the Student two-sided t test (p <
0.001). Values significantly higher than their counterparts transfected
without Bob1 are denoted by an asterisk. For -164/Bob,
p < 0.02; and for mb-1(B29OCT)/Bob1,
p < 0.05. The values for -164 mOCT/Bob,
-164(mb-1OCT)/Bob, mb-1/Bob, and mb-1 mOCT/Bob were not significantly
higher than their counterparts transfected without Bob1
(p > 0.05 each). The value for mb-1(B29OCT) was
significantly higher than mb-1 (p < 0.001).
B, For the BW5147 T cell line, values significantly
higher than their counterparts transfected without Bob1 are denoted by
an asterisk. For -164/Bob, p < 0.05; and for
mb-1(B29OCT)/Bob1, p < 0.02. The values for -164
mOCT/Bob, -164(mb-1OCT)/Bob, mb-1/Bob, and mb-1 mOCT/Bob were not
significantly higher than their counterparts transfected without Bob1
(p > 0.05 each). The value for mb-1(B29OCT) was
significantly higher than mb-1 (p < 0.01).
|
|
EMSAs comparing the wild-type B29 octamer motif and the
B29 with the mb-1 octamer consensus motif
(-164(mb-1OCT)) show that the -164(mb-1OCT) oligonucleotide probe
shows less binding to in vitro translated (IVT) Oct-1 as compared with
wild-type B29 octamer oligonucleotide probes (Fig. 5
A), possibly reflecting
intrinsic differences in the B29 and mb-1 octamer
sites. In contrast, the mb-1 with the B29 octamer
consensus motif (mb-1(B29OCT)) showed greater binding to IVT Oct-1 than
the wild-type mb-1 octamer motif (Fig. 5
B). This
result may explain why the mb-1(B29OCT) construct has higher activity
in transient transfections than the wild-type mb-1 promoter
construct (Fig. 4
).

View larger version (56K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
|
FIGURE 5. Swapping the B29 and mb-1 octamer consensus sites results in
altered Oct-1 binding in EMSA. Double-stranded oligonucleotides
corresponding to the octamer consensus sequence swaps between B29 and
mb-1 from constructs shown in Fig. 4 and their wild-type counterpart
double-stranded oligonucleotides were end labeled and used in EMSA.
A, Wild-type B29 octamer motif probe (-164 OCT,
left panel) compared with the mb-1 9-bp octamer
consensus sequence in the context of the 20-bp B29 octamer motif probe
(-164(mb-1OCT), right panel) taken from the same
exposure of the identical gel. Lane 1, The B29 octamer
motif probe (-164 OCT) alone; lanes 27, the B29
octamer motif probe (-164 OCT) incubated with 2 µl IVT Oct-1. Probe
was also coincubated with 500-fold molar excess of unlabeled B29
octamer motif (-164 OCT, lane 3), the mb-1 octamer
consensus sequence in the context of the B29 octamer site probe
(-164(mb-1OCT), lane 4), mutant B29 octamer motif
(-164 mOCT, lane 5), mb-1 octamer motif (mb-1 OCT,
lane 6), and the B29 octamer consensus site in the
context of the mb-1 octamer motif (mb-1(B29OCT), lane
7). Lane 8, The mb-1 octamer consensus sequence
in the context of the B29 octamer site probe (-164(mb-1Oct)) alone;
lanes 914, the mb-1 octamer consensus sequence in the
context of the B29 octamer site probe (-164(mb-1OCT)) incubated with 2
µl IVT Oct-1. Probe was also coincubated with 500-fold molar excess
of unlabeled B29 octamer motif (-164 OCT, lane 10), the
mb-1 octamer consensus sequence in the context of the B29 octamer site
probe (-164(mb-1OCT), lane 11), mutant B29 octamer
motif (-164 mOCT, lane 12), mb-1 octamer motif (mb-1
OCT, lane 13), and the B29 octamer consensus site in the
context of the mb-1 octamer motif (mb-1(B29OCT), lane
14). B, Wild-type mb-1 octamer motif probe (mb-1
OCT, left panel) compared with the B29 8-bp octamer
consensus sequence in the context of the 25-bp mb-1 octamer motif probe
(mb-1(B29OCT), right panel) taken from the same exposure
of the identical gel. Lane 1, The wild-type mb-1 octamer
motif probe (mb-1 OCT, left panel) alone; lanes
27, the mb-1 octamer motif probe (mb-1 OCT) incubated with 2
µl IVT Oct-1. Probe was also coincubated with 500-fold molar excess of unlabeled mb-1 octamer motif (mb-1
OCT, lane 3), B29 octamer consensus sequence in the
context of the mb-1 octamer site probe (mb-1(B29OCT), lane
4), mutant mb-1 octamer motif (mb-1 mOCT, lane
5), B29 octamer motif (-164 OCT, lane 6), and
mb-1 octamer consensus sequence in the context of the B29 octamer site
probe (-164(mb-1OCT), lane 7). Lane 8,
The B29 octamer consensus sequence in the context of the mb-1 octamer
site probe (mb-1(B29OCT)) alone; lanes 914, the B29
octamer consensus sequence in the context of the mb-1 octamer site
probe (mb-1(B29OCT) incubated with 2 µl IVT Oct-1. Probe was also
coincubated with 500-fold molar excess of unlabeled mb-1 octamer motif
(mb-1 OCT, lane 10), B29 octamer consensus sequence in
the context of the mb-1 octamer site probe (mb-1(B29OCT), lane
11), mutant mb-1 octamer motif (mb-1 mOCT, lane
12), B29 octamer motif (-164 OCT, lane 13), and
mb-1 octamer consensus sequence in the context of the B29 octamer site
probe (-164(mb-1OCT), lane 14). The specifically formed
Oct-1 complex is denoted by an arrow. Free, Free probe.
|
|
Bob1 responsiveness determines promoter activity in terminally
differentiated plasma cells
Previous studies have shown that the mb-1 promoter has
no activity in transient transfection of plasma cell lines (19, 23), while B29 has high activity (18). We tested
our octamer site swap constructs (-164(mb-1OCT) and mb-1(B29OCT)) in
J558L plasmacytoma cell line to determine whether the change in the
octamer sites alone would change the expression patterns of the
B29 and mb-1 promoters. Fig. 6
shows that the Bob1-responsive
B29 octamer site conferred activity onto the
mb-1 promoter (mb-1(B29OCT)) in plasmacytoma cells.
Additionally, the Bob1-unresponsive mb-1 octamer site shut
down expression of the B29 promoter (-164(mb-1OCT)) in
plasmacytoma cells. These data suggest that the octamer site alone
controls differential expression of the B29 and
mb-1 promoters in terminally differentiated plasma cells.
Interestingly, ectopic Bob1 expression had no significant effect on the
activity of any of the B29 or mb-1 promoter
constructs in plasma cells (Fig. 6
). The increased level of endogenous
Bob1 expression in J558L (4-fold over M12 Bob1 expression) could
preclude any further effect by ectopically expressed Bob1 (data not
shown) (30).

View larger version (50K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
|
FIGURE 6. Bob1 responsiveness determines promoter activity in terminally
differentiated plasma cells. Transient transfections of
B29 and mb-1 promoter constructs with and
without cotransfection of Bob1 were conducted in the J558L plasmacytoma
cell line. The activity of each construct is expressed as the
fold activation over the promoterless pGL3 luciferase basic construct.
A total of 10 µg Bob1 expression construct was added to transient
transfections of the B29 minimal promoter (-164), the
B29 minimal promoter with a mutated octamer motif (-164
mOCT), the B29 minimal promoter with the octamer motif
replaced with the mb-1 octamer consensus (-164(mb-1OCT)), the
mb-1 minimal promoter (mb-1), the mb-1
minimal promoter with a mutated octamer motif (mb-1 mOCT), and the
mb-1 minimal promoter with the octamer motif replaced
with the B29 octamer consensus (mb-1(B29OCT)), as
indicated. B29 and mb-1 promoter
luciferase construct values were pRL SV40 normalized and are the
average ± SD of at least four independent transfections using two
preparations of DNA. Values significantly above those for wild-type
constructs are denoted with an asterisk. For mb-1(B29OCT),
p < 0.01. Wild-type B29 promoter construct (-164)
was significantly higher than basic (p <
0.001).
|
|
 |
Discussion
|
|---|
This study shows that the B29 promoter octamer motif is
a target for Bob1 transactivation, while the mb-1 promoter
octamer motif is not. Both B29 and mb-1 are
TATA-less promoters that rely on a virtually identical cassette of
transcription factor motifs for activity (see Fig. 7
). Early reports of Bob1 specificity
suggested a role for the TATA box in controlling which promoters were
targets for Bob1 (1). Our data showing transactivation of
the TATA-less B29 promoter by Bob1 suggest that other
criteria must be responsible for selective Bob1 transactivation in the
context of TATA-less promoters.
Our study describes a new mechanism for the differential
expression patterns of B29 and mb-1 in B cell
development. The B29 gene is expressed throughout B cell
development (31), while the mb-1 gene is only
expressed through B cell development up to the plasma cell stage
(19, 20). An early hypothesis purported that the
transcription factor, early B cell factor (EBF), controlled the
differential expression of B29 and mb-1
(19, 20). This inference was based on the identical
expression profiles of mb-1 and EBF (19, 20, 32, 33), and the apparent lack of interaction of EBF and the
B29 promoter (17). Recently, it was shown that
EBF did interact with the B29 promoter (18),
and that B29 is not expressed in
EBF-/- knockout mice (34). In
light of these discoveries, EBF cannot account for the differential
expression of B29 and mb-1. B cell
lineage-specific activator protein (BSAP; Pax5) was shown to interact
with the mb-1 promoter (21, 22). Like EBF, BSAP
is not expressed in terminally differentiated plasma cells
(35). Unlike EBF, BSAP does not appear to affect
B29 promoter activity because normal levels of B29
expression were seen in BSAP-/- mice
(22), and the B29 promoter sequence does not
contain a BSAP binding site (17). The lack of BSAP in
plasma cells may contribute to the loss of mb-1 expression
in addition to the unresponsiveness of the mb-1 promoter to
Bob1 transactivation.
The concordant expression of Bob1 and B29 naturally points
to a role for Bob1 in B29 gene expression. Our evidence for
the differential interaction of Bob1 with the B29 and
mb-1 promoters poses a plausible explanation for the
continued expression of B29 and for the extinction of
mb-1 in the last stage of B cell development. Our study
showed that Bob1 transactivated the B29 promoter, while Bob1
was unable to affect expression from the mb-1 promoter.
These data support our proposal that while a lack of BSAP may
contribute to the extinction of mb-1, the presence of Bob1
is responsible for the continued expression of B29 in plasma
cells. Data showing that Bob1 promoter expression and Bob1 protein
levels are highest in plasma cells (30) support our
proposal that Bob1 transactivation supports ongoing B29, but
not mb-1 gene expression in plasma cells.
Our data specifically showed that Bob1 was a potent transactivator of
B29 in the lymphoid and nonlymphoid cell types tested, and
that this effect was mediated specifically through the octamer motif.
Equal amounts of Bob1 expression construct showed no effect on the
activity of the mb-1 promoter, even though the
mb-1 octamer site is functional and has been shown to be
required for maximal mb-1 promoter activity
(26). We directly showed that the sequences responsible
for Bob1 transactivation lie within the octamer consensus sequence. The
B29 and mb-1 octamer consensus site swap
constructs showed that Bob1 transactivation is mediated by the
B29 consensus octamer site (ATGCAAAT), regardless of whether
the sequences outside this site were derived from B29 or
mb-1. Additionally, the octamer swap constructs demonstrated
that the B29 consensus octamer site controlled the plasma
cell-specific activity of the promoters; the mb-1 promoter alone had
little activity in plasma cells, while the mb-1 with the
B29 octamer consensus site (mb-1(B29OCT)) had significantly
greater activity than the wild-type mb-1 promoter. In fact,
the mb-1(B29OCT) promoter had activity that was not significantly
different from the wild-type B29 promoter in plasma cells.
Furthermore, the B29 with the Bob1-nonresponsive
mb-1 octamer consensus site (B29(mb-1OCT)) had little
activity in plasma cells. These data support our proposal that Bob1
expression in plasma cells controls the differential expression of the
B29 and mb-1 promoters.
Our data showing that Bob1 overrides the effects of the B29
silencer elements in B cells and non-B cells suggest that Bob1 also
plays a critical role in regulating B cell expression of the
B29 gene. The B29 silencer elements have been
shown to govern B29 expression, but not control cell type
specificity because they are equally active in both B and non-B cells
(24). The expression of Bob1 may act to negate the effects
of the B29 silencers in B cells in which Bob1 and B29 are
expressed. In this mechanism, Bob1 would act as an antisilencer
countering the 5' B29 silencers, thereby controlling cell
type specificity of the B29 gene and restricting
B29 expression to B cells only. This combination of
cis-acting silencers and a trans-acting
transcriptional coactivator functioning as an antisilencer represents a
novel mechanism for controlling B cell gene specificity.
 |
Acknowledgments
|
|---|
We thank Melinda S. Gordon, Lisa Patrone, Denise
Gangadharan, and Francesca Fike for technical assistance.
 |
Footnotes
|
|---|
1 This work was supported by National Institutes of Health Grants CA85841 and GM40185 and University of California Amgen STAR Biotechnology Project Grant S96-02 (to R.W.). C.S.M. was supported by Public Health Service National Service Awards 5-T32-CA009120-25 and T32-CA09056. 
2 Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Randolph Wall, University of California School of Medicine, 539 Boyer Hall, 611 Charles E. Young Drive East, Los Angeles, CA 90095. E-mail address: rwall{at}mbi.ucla.edu 
3 Abbreviations used in this paper: CAT, chloramphenicol acetyltransferase; BSAP, B cell lineage-specific activator protein; EBF, early B cell factor; IVT, in vitro translated. 
Received for publication August 30, 2001.
Accepted for publication January 31, 2002.
 |
References
|
|---|
-
Luo, Y., H. Fujii, T. Gerster, R. G. Roeder. 1992. A novel B cell-derived coactivator potentiates the activation of immunoglobulin promoters by octamer-binding transcription factors. Cell 71:231.[Medline]
-
Pfisterer, P., S. Zwilling, J. Hess, T. Wirth. 1995. Functional characterization of the murine homolog of the B cell-specific coactivator BOB.1/OBF.1. J. Biol. Chem. 270:29870.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
-
Gstaiger, M., L. Knoepfel, O. Georgiev, W. Schaffner, C. M. Hovens. 1995. A B-cell coactivator of octamer-binding transcription factors. Nature 373:360.[Medline]
-
Luo, Y., R. G. Roeder. 1995. Cloning, functional characterization, and mechanism of action of the B-cell-specific transcriptional coactivator OCA-B. Mol. Cell. Biol. 15:4115.[Abstract]
-
Pierani, A., A. Heguy, H. Fujii, R. G. Roeder. 1990. Activation of octamer-containing promoters by either octamer-binding transcription factor 1 (OTF-1) or OTF-2 and requirement of an additional B-cell-specific component for optimal transcription of immunoglobulin promoters. Mol. Cell. Biol. 10:6204.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
-
Gstaiger, M., O. Georgiev, H. van Leeuwen, P. van der Vliet, W. Schaffner. 1996. The B cell coactivator Bob1 shows DNA sequence-dependent complex formation with Oct-1/Oct-2 factors, leading to differential promoter activation. EMBO J. 15:2781.[Medline]
-
Cepek, K. L., D. I. Chasman, P. A. Sharp. 1996. Sequence-specific DNA binding of the B-cell-specific coactivator OCA-B. Genes Dev. 10:2079.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
-
Tomilin, A., A. Remenyi, K. Lins, H. Bak, S. Leidel, G. Vriend, M. Wilmanns, H. R. Scholer. 2000. Synergism with the coactivator OBF-1 (OCA-B, BOB-1) is mediated by a specific POU dimer configuration. Cell 103:853.[Medline]
-
Kim, U., X. F. Qin, S. Gong, S. Stevens, Y. Luo, M. Nussenzweig, R. G. Roeder. 1996. The B-cell-specific transcription coactivator OCA-B/OBF-1/Bob-1 is essential for normal production of immunoglobulin isotypes. Nature 383:542.[Medline]
-
Schubart, D. B., A. Rolink, M. H. Kosco-Vilbois, F. Botteri, P. Matthias. 1996. B-cell-specific coactivator OBF-1/OCA-B/Bob1 required for immune response and germinal centre formation. Nature 383:538.[Medline]
-
Nielsen, P. J., O. Georgiev, B. Lorenz, W. Schaffner. 1996. B lymphocytes are impaired in mice lacking the transcriptional co-activator Bob1/OCA-B/OBF1. Eur. J. Immunol. 26:3214.[Medline]
-
Hermanson, G. G., M. Briskin, D. Sigman, R. Wall. 1989. Immunoglobulin enhancer and promoter motifs 5' of the B29 B-cell-specific gene. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 86:7341.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
-
Sakaguchi, N., S. Kashiwamura, M. Kimoto, P. Thalmann, F. Melchers. 1988. B lymphocyte lineage-restricted expression of mb-1, a gene with CD3- like structural properties. EMBO J. 7:3457.[Medline]
-
Cambier, J. C., W. Bedzyk, K. Campbell, N. Chien, J. Friedrich, A. Harwood, W. Jensen, C. Pleiman, M. R. Clark. 1993. The B-cell antigen receptor: structure and function of primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary components. Immunol. Rev. 132:85.[Medline]
-
Gong, S., M. C. Nussenzweig. 1996. Regulation of an early developmental checkpoint in the B cell pathway by Ig
. Science 272:411.[Abstract]
-
Roth, P. E., A. L. DeFranco. 1996. Receptor tails unlock developmental checkpoints for B lymphocytes. Science 272:1752.[Medline]
-
Omori, S. A., R. Wall. 1993. Multiple motifs regulate the B-cell-specific promoter of the B29 gene. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90:11723.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
-
Akerblad, P., M. Rosberg, T. Leanderson, M. Sigvardsson. 1999. The B29 (immunoglobulin
-chain) gene is a genetic target for early B-cell factor. Mol. Cell. Biol. 19:392.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
-
Feldhaus, A. L., D. Mbangkollo, K. L. Arvin, C. A. Klug, H. Singh. 1992. BLyF, a novel cell-type- and stage-specific regulator of the B-lymphocyte gene mb-1. Mol. Cell. Biol. 12:1126.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
-
Hagman, J., A. Travis, R. Grosschedl. 1991. A novel lineage-specific nuclear factor regulates mb-1 gene transcription at the early stages of B cell differentiation. EMBO J. 10:3409.[Medline]
-
Fitzsimmons, D., W. Hodsdon, W. Wheat, S. M. Maira, B. Wasylyk, J. Hagman. 1996. Pax-5 (BSAP) recruits Ets proto-oncogene family proteins to form functional ternary complexes on a B-cell-specific promoter. Genes Dev. 10:2198.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
-
Nutt, S. L., A. M. Morrison, P. Dorfler, A. Rolink, M. Busslinger. 1998. Identification of BSAP (Pax-5) target genes in early B-cell development by loss- and gain-of-function experiments. EMBO J. 17:2319.[Medline]
-
Travis, A., J. Hagman, R. Grosschedl. 1991. Heterogeneously initiated transcription from the pre-B- and B-cell-specific mb-1 promoter: analysis of the requirement for upstream factor-binding sites and initiation site sequences. Mol. Cell. Biol. 11:5756.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
-
Malone, C. S., S. A. Omori, R. Wall. 1997. Silencer elements controlling the B29 (Ig
) promoter are neither promoter- nor cell-type-specific. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 94:12314.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
-
Malone, C. S., L. Patrone, K. L. Buchanan, C. F. Webb, R. Wall. 2000. An upstream oct-1- and oct-2-binding silencer governs B29 (Ig
) gene expression. J. Immunol. 164:2550.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
-
Malone, C. S., L. Patrone, R. Wall. 2000. An essential octamer motif in the mb-1 (Ig
) promoter. Mol. Immunol. 37:321.[Medline]
-
Chang, C. H., J. D. Fontes, M. Peterlin, R. A. Flavell. 1994. Class II transactivator (CIITA) is sufficient for the inducible expression of major histocompatibility complex class II genes. J. Exp. Med. 180:1367.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
-
Grosschedl, R., D. Baltimore. 1985. Cell-type specificity of immunoglobulin gene expression is regulated by at least three DNA sequence elements. Cell 41:885.[Medline]
-
Omori, S. A., S. Smale, A. OShea-Greenfield, R. Wall. 1997. Differential interaction of nuclear factors with the leukocyte-specific pp52 promoter in B and T cells. J. Immunol. 159:1800.[Abstract]
-
Stevens, S., L. Wang, R. G. Roeder. 2000. Functional analysis of the OCA-B promoter. J. Immunol. 164:6372.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
-
Hermanson, G. G., D. Eisenberg, P. W. Kincade, R. Wall. 1988. B29: a member of the immunoglobulin gene superfamily exclusively expressed on
-lineage cells. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85:6890.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
-
Hagman, J., C. Belanger, A. Travis, C. W. Turck, R. Grosschedl. 1993. Cloning and functional characterization of early B-cell factor, a regulator of lymphocyte-specific gene expression. Genes Dev. 7:760.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
-
Travis, A., J. Hagman, L. Hwang, R. Grosschedl. 1993. Purification of early-B-cell factor and characterization of its DNA-binding specificity. Mol. Cell. Biol. 13:3392.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
-
Lin, H., R. Grosschedl. 1995. Failure of B-cell differentiation in mice lacking the transcription factor EBF. Nature 376:263.[Medline]
-
Barberis, A., K. Widenhorn, L. Vitelli, M. Busslinger. 1990. A novel B-cell lineage-specific transcription factor present at early but not late stages of differentiation. Genes Dev. 4:849.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
This article has been cited by other articles:

|
 |

|
 |
 
R. R. Shen, D. O. Ferguson, M. Renard, K. K. Hoyer, U. Kim, X. Hao, F. W. Alt, R. G. Roeder, H. C. Morse III, and M. A. Teitell
Dysregulated TCL1 requires the germinal center and genome instability for mature B-cell transformation
Blood,
September 15, 2006;
108(6):
1991 - 1998.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
B. Bartholdy, C. Du Roure, A. Bordon, D. Emslie, L. M. Corcoran, and P. Matthias
The Ets factor Spi-B is a direct critical target of the coactivator OBF-1
PNAS,
August 1, 2006;
103(31):
11665 - 11670.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
A. Ushmorov, F. Leithauser, O. Sakk, A. Weinhausel, S. W. Popov, P. Moller, and T. Wirth
Epigenetic processes play a major role in B-cell-specific gene silencing in classical Hodgkin lymphoma
Blood,
March 15, 2006;
107(6):
2493 - 2500.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
C. Brunner, H. Laumen, P. J. Nielsen, N. Kraut, and T. Wirth
Expression of the Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 2-like Gene Is Controlled by BOB.1/OBF.1 in B Lymphocytes
J. Biol. Chem.,
November 14, 2003;
278(46):
45231 - 45239.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
M. S. Gordon, C. M. Kanegai, J. R. Doerr, and R. Wall
Somatic hypermutation of the B cell receptor genes B29 (Igbeta , CD79b) and mb1 (Igalpha , CD79a)
PNAS,
April 1, 2003;
100(7):
4126 - 4131.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
M. Sigvardsson, D. R. Clark, D. Fitzsimmons, M. Doyle, P. Akerblad, T. Breslin, S. Bilke, R. Li, C. Yeamans, G. Zhang, et al.
Early B-Cell Factor, E2A, and Pax-5 Cooperate To Activate the Early B Cell-Specific mb-1 Promoter
Mol. Cell. Biol.,
December 15, 2002;
22(24):
8539 - 8551.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|