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J Biol Chem, Vol. 274, Issue 29, 20098-20102, July 16, 1999
From the Lysozyme is an important component of innate
immunity against common pathogens at mucosal surfaces. We previously
cloned and characterized the bovine lysozyme 5A (lys5A) promoter with
the purpose of determining cis- and
trans-acting elements controlling airway epithelial
cell-specific expression. We found that such expression is controlled
by protein binding to an ETS consensus sequence located approximately
at Lysozyme, also known as muramidase, is an enzyme catalyzing the
hydrolysis of At mucosal surfaces, lysozyme expression is confined to specialized
epithelial cells, including the serous gland cell of the respiratory
epithelium (5, 6) and the Paneth's cell of the gastrointestinal
epithelium. In hematopoietic cells, lysozyme expression is confined to
the macrophage and granulocyte lineages (7). Mechanisms responsible for
cell-specific expression are poorly understood. One feature that
appears to be critical for expression in both cell types, however, is
transactivation by ETS (E26
transforming-specific) family proteins (8). ETS
proteins were initially described in the E26 avian leukemia virus
(9-11), and they have now been identified in many species from
Drosophila to man (12). Many myeloid-specific genes require
ETS protein binding to DNA (e.g. CD4 and macrophage
colony-stimulating factor) (13, 14). That ETS proteins play important
roles in myeloid cell development was demonstrated by experiments
showing that the targeted disruption of the PU.1 or
ETS-1 gene has profound effects on development (15, 16).
Previously, we showed that epithelial cell-specific lysozyme expression
required an intact ETS-binding site in the proximal promoter of the
bovine lysozyme gene 5A (17). This was consistent with results
indicating a requirement for binding of the ETS family transcription
factor PU.1 to mediate lysozyme transcription in chicken macrophages
(18). Although the identity of the lysozyme-associated ETS protein in
epithelial cells was unknown, it was clearly not PU.1 since PU.1 is not
expressed in epithelial cells (19).
In the studies reported here, we examined the role of various ETS
family members in the control of lysozyme transcription in epithelial
cells. Our results indicate that the myeloid Elf-1-like factor
(MEF)1 is necessary for
lysozyme expression in epithelial cells and is sufficient to mediate
lysozyme transcription in fibroblasts.
Cell Culture and Transfections--
Cell lines were grown in
Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium supplemented with 10% fetal
bovine serum at 37 °C in a humidified 5% CO2 and 95%
air atmosphere.
Transient transfections were performed with Transfectam (Promega)
according to the manufacturer's recommendations. Specifically, 10 µl
of Transfectam reagent and 4 µg of total DNA in Dulbecco's modified
Eagle's medium were incubated for 10 min before the mixture was
applied to subconfluent cells on six-well plates. Cotransfection of
various plasmids was performed with 2 µg of reporter and 2 µg of
each effector. Empty vector (pCB6) was added where necessary to ensure
a constant amount of input DNA. Cotransfection with the pRL-CMV vector
(10 ng in each sample), which expresses Renilla luciferase
(Promega), verified that differences in firefly luciferase reporter
gene expression were not due to differences in transfection efficiency.
Cells were incubated for 2 h with the DNA mixtures, at which time
additional medium was added. Forty-eight hours after transfection, the
medium was removed, and cells were harvested. Luciferase activity was
measured using a dual-luciferase reporter assay system (Promega) and a
luminometer (Lumat LB9507, EG&G Berthold). Absolute light emission
generated from the luciferase enzyme reaction was determined. Relative
luciferase activity is plotted and represents the -fold induction of
activity generated by experimental treatments with respect to activity
associated with basic vector alone. Values are shown as means ± S.E. (n = 6). To normalize expression levels of the
transcription factors, we measured mRNA by Northern blotting using
the transcribed sequence of pCB6 as a probe.
For generation of stably transfected clones, introduction of expression
constructs into the human lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549 (RCB0098)
was performed by electroporation. Approximately 1 × 106 cells were transfected with 100 µg of MEF cDNA in
pCB6 linearized with ApaLI. Electroporations were performed
using an ECM 600 apparatus (BTX Inc.) at 500 V and 1350 microfarads.
Cells were then cultured on six-well plates at 1 × 105/well. At 50% confluency, 1 mg of G418 sulfate
(Calbiochem)/ml was added. G418-resistant clones were picked 1 week
later and analyzed individually or as pools of several hundred clones.
Stably overexpressed cells were selected by Northern blotting.
Plasmid Constructs--
The (
The (
(
(
A full-length cDNA (1992 bp) for human MEF (20) was obtained by
reverse transcription-PCR. This was done with a GeneAmp RNA PCR kit
(Perkin-Elmer) and the following primers: 5'-primer, CGGGATCCCGCATGGCTATTACCCTACAGC; and 3'-primer,
GGAATTCCTTATATGTCATGGGGCTCCATC. The PCR product was cloned into the
pCR2.1 vector using the Original TA cloning kit (Invitrogen). After
confirmation of the sequence, it was cloned into the
BglII-HindIII site of pCB6 downstream of the
cytomegalovirus promoter. Full-length human Ets-1 (1325 bp), Ets-2
(1410 bp; a gift from Dr. D. K. Watson), Elf-1 (1870 bp; cloned by
us), PEA3 (a gift from Dr. J. A. Hassel), and ESE-1 (a gift from
Dr. T. A. Libermann) were cloned into the
KpnI-XbaI site of pCB6 downstream of the
cytomegalovirus promoter. All constructs were verified by DNA sequencing.
For generation of antisense mRNAs of MEF and ESE-1, the cDNA in
pCB6 was cut with EcoRI and religated to get a reverse
orientation of MEF and ESE-1. The resulting plasmid was sequenced to
verify insert orientation.
Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay--
A549 cells
(0.5-1 × 106) were collected, washed with 10 ml of
Tris-buffered saline, and pelleted by centrifugation at 1500 × g for 5 min. The pellet was resuspended in 1 ml of
Tris-buffered saline, transferred into an Eppendorf tube, and pelleted
again by spinning for 15 s in a microcentrifuge. Tris-buffered
saline was removed, and the cell pellet was resuspended in 400 µl of cold buffer containing 10 mM HEPES (pH 7.9), 10 mM KCl, 0.1 mM EDTA, 0.1 mM EGTA, 1 mM dithiothreitol, and 0.5 mM
phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride by gentle pipetting. The cells were
allowed to swell on ice for 15 min, after which 25 µl of a 10%
solution of Nonidet P-40 (Nakarai) was added, and the tube was
vigorously vortexed for 10 s. The homogenate was centrifuged for
30 s in a microcentrifuge. The nuclear pellet was resuspended in
50 µl of ice-cold buffer containing 20 mM HEPES (pH 7.9),
0.4 M NaCl, 1 mM EDTA, 1 mM EGTA, 1 mM dithiothreitol, and 1 mM
phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, and the tube was vigorously rocked at
4 °C for 15 min on a shaking platform. The nuclear extract was
centrifuged for 5 min in a microcentrifuge at 4 °C, and the
supernatant (~55 µl) was frozen in aliquots at
The following complementary oligonucleotides were synthesized and used
in electrophoretic mobility shift assays: wild-type oligonucleotide
(which contains lys5A promoter sequences from Production of Recombinant MEF and Antisera--
The MEF cDNA
was subcloned into the pGEX2T plasmid, and GST-MEF protein was
expressed in bacterial DH5
To generate MEF antiserum, bacterially expressed GST-MEF protein was
used to immunize a rabbit. For use in electrophoretic mobility shift
assay experiments, IgG was purified using protein A-Sepharose (Amersham
Pharmacia Biotech) as recommended by the manufacturer.
Reverse Transcription-PCR--
Total RNA was extracted from
1 × 106 A549 cells using the
acid/guanidium/phenol/chloroform method. Reverse transcription-PCR experiments were performed with a GeneAmp RNA PCR kit according to the
manufacturer's instructions: 42 °C for 60 min, 99 °C for 5 min,
and 5 °C for 5 min for reverse transcription; 95 °C for 1 min,
60 °C for 1 min, 72 °C for 1.5 min for 20-40 cycles; and 72 °C for 20 min for 1 cycle. The following primers were
used: for lysozyme, 5'-primer (CTTCTCGAGCTAGGCACTCTGACCTAGCAGT) and 3'-primer (AAAAATTCTCGAGTTACACTCCACAACCTTG); and for
glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, 5'-primer
(CGGGAAGCTTGTGATCAATGG) and 3'-primer (GGCAGTGATGGCATGGACTG).
Western Blot Analysis--
After parental A549 and stably
transfected A549 cells were confluent, cells were cultured in
serum-free medium for 1 week. The culture medium was harvested and
concentrated with ammonium sulfate. The concentrated medium was
analyzed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Samples were
electroblotted onto a polyvinylidene difluoride membrane (Millipore
Corp.). The membrane was blocked in PBST (phosphate-buffered saline
containing 0.05% (v/v) Tween 20) containing 5% nonfat milk. After
three washes in PBST, the membrane was incubated for 1 h with
primary antibody (sheep polyclonal anti-human lysozyme, IBL). After an
additional three washes in PBST, the membrane was incubated for 1 h with secondary antibody (peroxidase-conjugated rabbit anti-sheep IgG
(H+L) antibody, Jackson ImmunoResearch Laboratories, Inc.).
A screen of ETS transcription factors (Elf-1, Ets-1, Ets-2, PEA3,
ESE-1, and MEF) revealed that despite the presence of an ETS consensus
binding sequence on the lys5A promoter, most ETS proteins were unable
to activate lysozyme transcription. The only ETS proteins active in
this regard were MEF and ESE-1 (Fig. 1). MEF stimulated transcription more strongly than did ESE-1 in lung epithelial cells (A549), colon carcinoma cells (Caco-2), and skin fibroblasts (NIH3T3) (Fig. 1). That this occurred through MEF binding
to the ETS consensus sequence was indicated by the fact that activation
was inhibited when the ETS consensus sequence in the lysozyme
regulatory region was changed from 5'-GGAA-3'to 5'-GGTC-3'. The reason
for the weak inhibition by the mutation in Caco-2 cells is unclear.
To determine whether or not MEF was endogenously present in the nuclei
of epithelial cells and could thereby mediate endogenous lysozyme
expression, we performed gel shift and supershift assays. As a probe,
we used the radiolabeled lys5A promoter To determine whether or not endogenous MEF is required for basal
activity of the lys5A promoter, we produced antisense MEF mRNA in
A549 cells using expression plasmid pCB6 with MEF cDNA in reverse
orientation. The presence of antisense mRNA was associated with an
80% inhibition of luciferase activity for lys5A-(
We obtained further evidence for the role of MEF in lysozyme
transcription by stably overexpressing MEF in A549 cells. The stable
transfectants are referred to as line 71. MEF overexpression strongly
stimulated transiently transfected lys5A promoter activity if cells
were transfected with wild-type constructs, but not with constructs
mutated at the MEF DNA-binding site (Fig.
4A). In addition, MEF
overexpression up-regulated endogenous lysozyme mRNA and protein expression, but not mRNA encoding the housekeeping protein
glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (Fig. 4, B and
C).
The studies reported here indicate that the ETS protein MEF is present in lung epithelial cells and is required for lysozyme transcription in these cells. This is the first information regarding requirements for lysozyme expression in epithelial cells, as previous studies have focused on macrophages. Although lysozyme transcription in macrophages and epithelial cells is similar in requiring ETS protein transcription factors, the two cell types differ in their specific use of ETS proteins. Thus, whereas macrophages activate lysozyme transcription via PU.1, our data indicate that epithelial cells use, at least in part, the ETS family member MEF. We found that in epithelial cells, MEF up-regulated not only the activity of a transiently transfected lys5A promoter, but also the transcription of the endogenous lysozyme gene and protein. Moreover, antisense experiments showed that inhibition of endogenous MEF in epithelial cells attenuated the base-line level of lysozyme expression. Taken together, these results indicate that MEF is required for base-line expression of lysozyme in epithelial cells. The finding that antisense MEF constructs did not completely block
lysozyme expression suggests that other factors are also involved in
A549 cells. A strong candidate is the ETS family member ESE-1/ERT/ESX/ELF-3 (21-26) since antisense ESE-1 constructs also partly inhibited promoter activity, since it is known to exist in
epithelial cells, and since ESE-1 overexpression was seen to up-regulate lys5A promoter activity in cotransfection experiments (Fig.
1). With respect to lysozyme up-regulation, we are aware of the
existence of a second element ( Our results showing a requirement for ETS family proteins in the expression of lysozyme in epithelial cells are consistent with previous data showing that the ETS protein PU.1 is required for lysozyme expression in chicken macrophages (18). The PU.1-binding site is present in an enhancer located 2.7 kilobases upstream of the transcription start site of chicken lysozyme. Mutation of this site abolishes enhancer activity in macrophages (18). Unclear at this point is the issue of whether epithelial cells in chicken, like those in mammals, use MEF and/or ESE-1 to activate the response element activated by PU.1 in macrophages. A subtle contrast with the findings reported here are results regarding the mouse M lysozyme gene. This gene, although also regulated by ETS transcription factors, is flanked by ETS consensus sequences lying 3', rather than 5', to the gene coding region. The 3'-region containing ETS consensus sequence is co-extensive with DNase I hypersensitivity sites that undergo demethylation in lysozyme-expressing macrophages (27) and is therefore likely to be functionally important. A major focus of our laboratory's research is the differentiation and function of respiratory tract epithelial cells. In this regard, it is interesting that the 5'-flanking regions of several genes selectively expressed in respiratory tract serous cells contain ETS protein-binding sites. Specifically, the motif is present flanking genes encoding proline-rich proteins (28), lactoferrin (29), the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (30), and secretory leukoprotease inhibitor (31). The presence of shared transcription factor-binding sites may denote the presence of a regulatory cascade that controls serous cell differentiation in a manner similar to that already described for more extensively studied tissues such as skeletal muscle (32). In summary, these studies provide the first information identifying
transcription factors controlling lysozyme expression in epithelial
cells. As bacteria become progressively more resistant to exogenously
applied antibiotics, information regarding mechanisms controlling
innate immunity, such as that provided by epithelial lysozyme, may
offer important new therapeutic approaches.
We thank Dr. T. A. Libermann for kindly providing the ESE-1 cDNA, Dr. D. K. Watson for Ets-1 and Ets-2 cDNAs, and Dr. J. A. Hassel for PEA3.
* This work was supported by grants-in-aid for scientific research from the Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture of Japan and by National Institutes of Health Grants R0143762 and P0124136 (to C. B.).The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. The article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
§ To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel. and Fax: 81-96-371-4182; E-mail: hirokai@gpo.kumamoto-u.ac.jp.
The abbreviations used are: MEF, myeloid Elf-1-like factor; PCR, polymerase chain reaction; bp, base pair(s); WT, wild-type; lys5A, lysozyme 5A; GST, glutathione S-transferase.
Copyright © 1999 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc. This article has been cited by other articles:
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