C/EBPα Inhibits Cell Growth via Direct Repression of E2F-DP-Mediated Transcription

Abstract

Using an inducible transcription system which allows the regulated expression of C/EBP isoforms in tissue culture cells, we have found that the ectopic expression of C/EBPα, at a level comparable to that found in normal liver tissue, has a pronounced antimitogenic effect in mouse L cells and NIH 3T3 cells. The inhibition of cell division by C/EBPα in mouse cells cannot be reversed by simian virus 40 T antigen, by oncogenic ras, or by adenovirus E1a protein. When expressed in thymidine kinase-deficient L cells or 3T3 cells, C/EBPα is detected in a protein complex which binds to the E2F binding sites found in the promoters of the genes for E2F-1 and dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR). Bacterially expressed C/EBPα has no affinity for these E2F sites, but when recombinant C/EBPα is added to nuclear extracts from mouse fibroblasts, a new E2F binding activity appears, which contains the C/EBPα protein. Using an E2F-DP1-responsive promoter linked to a reporter gene, it can be shown that C/EBPα directly inhibits the induction of this promoter by E2F-DP1 in transient-transfection assays. Furthermore, C/EBPα can be shown to inhibit the S-phase induction of the E2F and DHFR promoters in permanent cell lines. These findings delineate a straightforward mechanism for C/EBPα-mediated cell growth arrest through repression of E2F-DP-mediated S-phase transcription.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work was supported by NIH grant DK46446, DOE grant DE-FC02-98CH10902, and an MUSC University Research Committee grant to D.T.K.

The expert technical assistance of Susan Brady and Stephanie Cook is gratefully acknowledged. We also wish to acknowledge Candace Enockson, MT(ASCP), operator of the Analytical Flow Cytometry Shared Facility at the Medical University of South Carolina, as well as the MUSC Biotechnology Resource Laboratory for DNA sequencing and the MUSC BioMolecular Computing Resource for DNA sequence analysis.