Interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3), one member of the IRF family, plays a central role in induction of type I interferon (IFN) and regulation of apoptosis. Controlled activity of IRF3 is essential for its functions. During reverse transcription (RT)-PCR to clone the full-length open reading frame (ORF) of IRF3, we cloned a full-length ORF encoding an isoform of IRF3, termed as IRF3-CL, and has a unique carboxyl-terminus of 125 amino acids. IRF3-CL is ubiquitously expressed in distinct cell lines. Overexpression of IRF3-CL inhibits Sendai virus (SeV)-triggered induction of IFN-b and SeV-induced and inhibitor of NF-kB kinase-e (IKKe)-mediated nuclear translocation of IRF3. When IKKe is overexpressed, IRF3-CL is associated with IRF3. These results suggest that IRF3-CL, the alternative splicing isoform of IRF-3, may function as a negative regulator of IRF3. Keywords: interferon regulatory factor 3; negative regulation; splicing variant
INTRODUCTIONThe interferon regulatory factor (IRF) family of transcriptional factors plays versatile roles in many biological processes, including innate and adaptive immune responses, cell growth control, apoptosis and hematopoietic development. 1,2 To date, nine members of the mammalian IRF family have been identified and characterized, each containing a highly conserved DNA-binding domain of ,120 amino acids (aa) at the amino terminus, and a variable carboxyl-terminal IRF association domain (IAD). 2 IRF3, one member of the IRF family, possesses a transactivation domain (aa 134-394) and two autoinhibition domains. 3 After viral infection, the latent IRF3, which resides primarily in the cytoplasm, is phosphorylated by the inhibitor of NF-kB kinase-e (IKKe) and TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1) and forms a homo-or heterodimer with other transcriptional factors which then translocates into the nucleus. [4][5][6] The activated IRF3 associates with the transcriptional cofactors cyclic AMP-responsive elementbinding protein and P300 to bind to the specific DNA targets, thus leading to transcriptional initiation of target genes with other cofactors simultaneously recruited. 7 Accumulating evidence demonstrates that IRF3 plays an essential role in the virus-or bacterium-mediated induction of interferon (IFN)-b and a subset of IFN-stimulated genes through the Toll-like receptors or the cytosolic receptors pathway. 8-10 Furthermore, IRF3 has been shown to function as a vital signaling regulator in the innate immune response, development of immune cells and apoptosis. 11 As rapid and controlled cellular responses are pivotal to host defense, the activity of IRF3 should be regulated at multiple levels.