Cutting edge: the differential involvement of the N-finger of GATA-3 in chromatin remodeling and transactivation during Th2 development

J Immunol. 2002 Oct 15;169(8):4103-7. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.169.8.4103.

Abstract

The development of Th subset is accompanied by subset-specific chromatin remodeling of cytokine gene loci. In this study, we show that the C-terminal, but not the N-terminal zinc finger (N-finger) of GATA-3 mediates the association with the IL-4/IL-13 intergenic DNase I hypersensitive site and the induction of an extended DNase I hypersensitivity on the IL-4/IL-13 locus. Consistently, deletion of the transactivation domains or the C-finger, but not the N-finger, abrogated the induction of IL-4 and IL-13 as well as the down-regulation of IFN-gamma. In contrast, the N-finger of GATA-3 was indispensable for the binding to the IL-5 promoter and the induction of IL-5. The selective use of the N-finger may underlie the differential roles of GATA-3 in the induction of IL-4, IL-13, and IL-5.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Differentiation / genetics
  • Cell Differentiation / immunology
  • Chromatin / genetics
  • Chromatin / metabolism*
  • DNA / metabolism
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / genetics
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / metabolism
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / physiology*
  • GATA3 Transcription Factor
  • Interleukin-13 / biosynthesis
  • Interleukin-4 / biosynthesis
  • Interleukin-5 / biosynthesis
  • Mice
  • Mutagenesis, Site-Directed
  • Protein Binding / genetics
  • Protein Binding / immunology
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary / genetics
  • Th2 Cells / cytology*
  • Th2 Cells / immunology
  • Th2 Cells / metabolism
  • Trans-Activators / genetics
  • Trans-Activators / metabolism
  • Trans-Activators / physiology*
  • Transcriptional Activation / immunology*
  • Zinc Fingers* / genetics

Substances

  • Chromatin
  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • GATA3 Transcription Factor
  • Gata3 protein, mouse
  • Interleukin-13
  • Interleukin-5
  • Trans-Activators
  • Interleukin-4
  • DNA