Requirements for Interleukin 2 Promoter Transactivation by the Tax Protein of Human T-Cell Leukemia Virus Type 1

The Tax protein of human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) upregulates the expression of several cellular genes by activating members of both the NF-kappaB and bZIP families of transcription factors. Recent studies demonstrate that the CD28 response element (CD28RE) of the interleukin 2 (IL-2) promoter is the site upregulated by Tax in stimulated T cells. Although some reports suggest that this site is transactivated by NF-kappaB family members, others disagree, leaving the identity of the transcription factor(s) binding the CD28RE unclear. The studies presented here further characterize the response of the IL-2 promoter and CD28RE to the HTLV-1 Tax protein and demonstrate that the TATA-proximal AP-1 binding site of the IL-2 promoter is also necessary for Tax transactivation in stimulated Jurkat cells. In contrast to its upregulation of the IL-2 promoter which requires T-cell stimulation, Tax transactivates the isolated CD28RE-AP-1 element without stimulation but is greatly synergized by calcium ionophore and phorbol ester. Additionally, transactivation of the IL-2 promoter requires the Tax activation domain involved in upregulation of bZIP-enhanced transcription while the NF-kappaB-activating domain of Tax is dispensable. Interestingly, both domains appear to be necessary for the activation of the isolated CD28RE-AP-1 sequence in the context of a heterologous promoter construct. This strongly suggests that activation of NF-kappaB is insufficient to activate transcription via the CD28RE-AP-1 element of the IL-2 promoter and that a different transcription factor, upregulated via the activation domain of the HTLV-1 Tax protein, may be involved.