The B cell lymphoma (BCL)-6 transcriptional repressor protein is an important regulator of Th2 responses. Mice deficient in BCL-6 develop severe Th2-type inflammation that can develop even in the absence of IL-4 signaling. We have investigated the mechanism for how BCL-6 regulates Th2 cell differentiation and have found that IL-6 signaling can promote dramatically increased levels of Th2 differ...

The transcription factor FOXP3 is essential for the differentiation and function of regulatory T cells (Treg). It is established that the transcription factor GATA-3 is induced in Treg cells under inflammatory conditions. GATA-3 stabilizes FOXP3 levels to avoid the differentiation of Treg cells into inflammatory-like T cells. The IL-6 signal pathway influences the sensitivity of Treg cells towa...

The DNA motif WGATAR has been identified within transcriptional regulatory domains of globin and other erythroid-specific genes and the activator proteins that bind to this regulatory element, the GATA factors, belong to a multi-gene family that is expressed in chicken erythroid cells. Here we show that, as in chickens, multiple members of the GATA factor family are expressed in human and murin...

GATA-1, the founding member of a distinctive family of transcription factors, is expressed predominantly in erythroid cells and participates in the expression of numerous erythroid cell-expressed genes. GATA-binding sites are found in the promoters and enhancers of globin and nonglobin erythroid genes as well as in the alpha- and beta-globin locus control regions. To elucidate how GATA-1 may fu...

GATA-1 and NF-E2 are erythroid specific activators that bind to the β-globin locus. To explore the roles of these activators in transcription of the human fetal stage specific γ-globin genes, we reduced GATA-1 and p45/NF-E2 using shRNA in erythroid K562 cells. GATA-1 or p45/NF-E2 knockdown inhibited the transcription of the γ-globin genes, hypersensitive site (HS) formation in the LCR and chrom...

The GATA-6 transcription factor is reported to be expressed in vascular myocytes. Because glomerular mesangial cells (GMCs) and vascular myocytes have similar properties, we examined whether GATA-6 was expressed in cultured GMCs and whether overexpression of GATA-6 induced cell cycle arrest in GMCs, using a recombinant adenovirus that expresses GATA-6 (Ad GATA-6). GATA-6 expression in GMCs was ...

Skin lies at the interface between the complex physiology of the body and the external environment. This essential epidermal barrier, composed of cornified proteins encased in lipids, prevents both water loss and entry of infectious or toxic substances. We uncover that the transcription factor GATA-3 is required to establish the epidermal barrier and survive in the ex utero environment. Analysi...

The human and the murine glycoprotein platelet IIb (GPIIb) promoters are megakaryocyte specific in human and murine cell systems, respectively. Here we show that the murine promoter is, however, highly active when transfected in K562 human cells in which the human promoter is almost inactive. A murine promoter, in which the enhancer element was replaced by the human, retrieves its megakaryocyti...

We have previously identified a cis-acting element, named the XXIII box, that is essential for light-regulated expression of the nuclear gene GAPB, which encodes the B subunit of chloroplast glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from Arabidopsis thaliana. Examination of the sequences indicated that there are two GATA motifs within the XXIII box. Based on the degree of the amino-acid sequence...