Activation of the murine c-myc promoter by murine c-Myb protein was examined in several cell lines by using a transient expression system

Berlin 33. FRG Communicated by V.A.ErdmannTo study the fine structure of the Xenopus laevis somatic 5S gene internal control region, we have created 15 different transversions using mutagenic oligonucleotide primers. The effects of these mutations on 5S DNA transcription in vitro as well as on stable complex formation with transcription factor TF III A and TF III C in crude nuclear extracts were analyzed. Mutations in the commmon class III 5' promoter element (nucleotides 50-61 in the 5S gene) interfere with transcription activity and stable complex formation whenever they contradict the tDNA box A consensus sequence. The second promoter element is defined by a major sequence block (nucleotides 80-89, box C) and two additional internal residues (70 and 71) at a distance of roughly one helical turn from both the major 3' and 5' control sequences; these two 3' elements contain the primary TF III A binding domain. The remaining nucleotides (62 -69 and 71-79) when mutated do not interfere with transcription activity or factor binding and thus they constitute two spacer elements within a symmetrically structured 5S gene promoter. An increase in the relative spacing of box A and box C by insertion of 3 bp between nucleotides 66 and 67 leads to a drastic reduction in transcription activity and the ability to form a stable complex with TF III A and/or TF III C. Thus, accurate spacing is essential for the proper orientation of TF III A on 5S DNA and/or TF III C binding.

The v-myb oncogene causes monoblastic leukemia in chickens and transforms avian myelomonocytic cells in vitro, v-Myb is a short-lived nuclear protein which binds to DNA in a sequence-specific manner and can activate gene expression in transient DNA transfections. Analysis of a series of v-Myb mutants has shown that the ability to activate transcription appears to be required for leukemic transformation. We have systematically investigated transcriptional activation by v-Myb and have made several new observations: (i) v-Myb is a very weak activator when compared to GAL4; (ii) very weak transcriptional activation by v-Myb is sufficient for transformation, whereas very strong transcriptional activation by a v-Myb-VP16 fusion protein is not; and (iii) v-Myb can activate transcription by two genetically distinct mechanisms, only one of which requires the presence of Myb-binding sites.

In order to make conditional alleles of the v-myb oncogene, we constructed and tested avian retroviruses which produce a number of different fusion proteins between v-Myb and the human estrogen receptor (ER). We found that the portion of the ER used in making these fusions profoundly affected their transcriptional activation. However, all the fusions tested were only weakly transforming in embryonic yolk sac assays and there was no direct correlation between the level of transcriptional activation and strength of oncogenic transformation. Nevertheless, transformation by a v-Myb-ER fusion was estrogen dependent, and upon withdrawal of the hormone, monocytic-lineage cells differentiated into multinucleated giant cells. Surprisingly, the withdrawal of estrogen caused a dramatic increase in the stability of the fusion protein, although it remained unable to promote cell growth or block differentiation.

Activation of the murine c-myc promoter by murine c-Myb protein was examined in several cell lines by using a transient expression system in which Myb expression vectors activate the c-myc promoter linked to a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter gene or a genomic beta-globin gene. S1 nuclease protection analyses confirmed that the induction of c-myc by c-Myb was transcriptional and affected both P1 and P2 start sites in a murine T-cell line, EL4, and a myelomonocytic line, WEHI-3. Mutational analyses of the c-myc promoter revealed that two distinct regions could confer Myb responsiveness in two T-cell lines, a distal site upstream of P1 and a proximal site within the first noncoding exon. In contrast, only the proximal site was required for other cell lineages examined. Five separate Myb-binding sites were located in this proximal site and found to be important for c-Myb trans activation. DNA binding was necessary for c-myc activation, as shown by the loss of function associated with mutation of Myb's DNA-binding domain and by trans-dominant repressor activity of the DNA binding, trans-activation-defective mutant. The involvement of additional protein factors was addressed by inhibiting protein synthesis with cycloheximide in a conditional expression system in which the activity of presynthesized Myb was under the control of estrogen. These experiments indicate that de novo synthesis of additional proteins was not necessary for c-myc trans activation. Together these data reveal two cell lineage-dependent pathways by which c-Myb regulates c-myc; however, both pathways are mechanistically indistinguishable in that direct DNA binding by Myb is required for activating c-myc whereas neither de novo protein synthesis nor other labile proteins are necessary.