Cloning and characterization of the murine ?3 integrin gene promoter: Identification of an interleukin-4 responsive element and regulation by STAT-6

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Abstract
Expression of the αvβ3 integrin by murine bone marrow macrophages is regulated by cytokines such as IL-4 and GM-CSF through transcriptional activation of the β3 subunit gene. To characterize the molecular mechanisms by which such regulation occurs, we isolated the murine β3 integrin promoter. To this end, we first cloned a full length β3 cDNA and used the 5′UTR and leader peptide coding sequence to identify genomic clones containing the β3 promoter region. The transcriptional start site, identified by primer extension and S1 nuclease assay, is 34 nt upstream of the translation initiation codon. A 1.1 kb fragment of the promoter region drives IL-4 responsive transcription in transiently transfected murine bone marrow macrophages. Deletion analysis of the β3 promoter indicates the IL-4 responsive element lies between −465 to −678 nt relative to the transcriptional start site. This promoter fragment contains two overlapping STAT consensus recognition sites and nuclear extracts from BMMs contain an IL-4-inducible DNA binding factor, identified by super shift analysis, as STAT-6. Furthermore, an oligonucleotide which includes the two STAT recognition sites residing in the IL-4 responsive region of the β3 promoter, competes for STAT-6 binding. Confirming IL-4 induction of the integrin subunit is specifically mediated by STAT-6, β3 mRNA is not enhanced in BMMs derived from STAT-6 deleted mice, which however, retain their capacity to respond to GM-CSF. J. Cell. Biochem. 81:320–332, 2001.