A protein of the AP-1 family is a component of nuclear factor of activated T cells

Abstract

Nuclear factor of activated T cells (NF-AT) is a transcriptional activator involved in the induction of IL-2 gene expression. The response element for NF-AT is a sequence localized between -285/-254 in the IL-2 regulatory region. The composition of NF-AT protein is still not fully elucidated. We demonstrate that, in normal human T cells, an AP-1 protein is a component of the NF-AT protein complex. This was evidenced by the ability of the AP-1 site to compete with the NF-AT site for binding to NF-AT and by the capacity of immobilized anti-Jun and anti-Fos antibodies to deplete NF-AT-binding activity from nuclear extracts of activated T cells. There was no detectable binding of in vitro translated Jun/Fos heterodimer (AP-1) to the NF-AT sequence, and the NF-AT sequence was unable to inhibit the binding of Jun/Fos to the AP-1 sequence. The presence of an AP-1 protein in the NF-AT protein complex may regulate NF-AT-binding activity through protein-protein interaction.