期刊名称：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN：0027-8424
电子版ISSN：1091-6490
出版年度：2002
卷号：99
期号：9
页码：6322-6327
DOI：10.1073/pnas.092133199
语种：English
出版社：The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要：Double-stranded (ds) RNA induces transcription of the 561 gene by activating IFN regulatory factor (IRF) transcription factors, whereas similar induction of the IFN-{beta} gene is thought to require additional activation of NF{kappa}B and AP-1. In mutant P2.1 cells, dsRNA failed to activate NF{kappa}B, IRF-3, p38, or c-Jun N-terminal kinase, and transcription of neither 561 mRNA nor IFN-{beta} mRNA was induced. The defect in the IRF-3 pathway was traced to a low cellular level of this protein because of its higher rate of degradation in P2.1 cells. As anticipated, in several clonal derivatives of P2.1 cells expressing different levels of transfected IRF-3, activation of IRF-3 and induction of 561 mRNA by dsRNA was restored fully, although the defects in other responses to dsRNA persisted. Surprisingly, IFN-{beta} mRNA also was induced strongly in these cells in response to dsRNA, demonstrating that the activation of NF{kappa}B and AP-1 is not required. This conclusion was confirmed in wild-type cells overexpressing IRF-3 by blocking NF{kappa}B activation with the I{kappa}B superrepressor and AP-1 activation with a p38 inhibitor. Therefore, IRF-3 activation by dsRNA is sufficient to induce the transcription of genes with simple promoters such as 561 as well as complex promoters such as IFN-{beta}.
