Induction of bcl-2 expression by phosphorylated CREB proteins during B-cell activation and rescue from apoptosis.

Engagement of surface immunoglobulin on mature B cells leads to rescue from apoptosis and to proliferation. Levels of bcl-2 mRNA and protein increase with cross-linking of surface immunoglobulin. We have located the major positive regulatory region for control of bcl-2 expression in B cells in the 5'-flanking region. The positive region can be divided into an upstream and a downstream regulatory region. The downstream regulatory region contains a cyclic AMP-responsive element (CRE). We show by antibody supershift experiments and UV cross-linking followed by denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis that both CREB and ATF family members bind to this region in vitro. Mutations of the CRE site that result in loss of CREB binding also lead to loss of functional activity of the bcl-2 promoter in transient-transfection assays. The presence of an active CRE site in the bcl-2 promoter implies that the regulation of bcl-2 expression is linked to a signal transduction pathway in B cells. Treatment of the mature B-cell line BAL-17 with either anti-immunoglobulin M or phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate leads to an increase in bcl-2 expression that is mediated by the CRE site. Treatment of the more immature B-cell line, Ramos, with phorbol esters rescues the cells from calcium-dependent apoptosis. bcl-2 expression is increased following phorbol ester treatment, and the increased expression is dependent on the CRE site. These stimuli result in phosphorylation of CREB at serine 133. The phosphorylation of CREB that results in activation is mediated by protein kinase C rather than by protein kinase A. Although the CRE site is necessary, optimal induction of bcl-2 expression requires participation of the upstream regulatory element, suggesting that phosphorylation of CREB alters its interaction with the upstream regulatory element. The CRE site in the bcl-2 promoter appears to play a major role in the induction of bcl-2 expression during the activation of mature B cells and during the rescue of immature B cells from apoptosis. It is possible that the CRE site is responsible for induction of bcl-2 expression in other cell types, particularly those in which protein kinase C is involved.     

Pi 1 binding sites are negative regulators of bcl-2 expression in pre-B cells.

The bcl-2 gene is differentially regulated during B-cell development, with low-level expression in pre-B cells and higher-level expression in mature B cells. These changes correlate with susceptibility to cell death by apoptosis and suggest that the Bcl-2 protein may play a role in the control of cell death during B-cell development. We have identified two negative regulatory regions in the human bcl-2 5' flanking and 5' untranslated regions in pre-B cells; these regions have no significant function in mature B cells. Further investigation of these regions revealed two pre-B-cell-specific enhancer elements (pi 1 sites) in the 5' negative regulatory region and one in the 3' negative regulatory region. Mutational analysis confirmed that these three sites functioned as negative regulators of the bcl-2 promoter in the pre-B-cell line Nalm-6. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays with each of the three sites demonstrated a complex of identical mobility to that formed with the immunoglobulin heavy-chain enhancer pi 1 site. UV cross-linking experiments revealed that a protein with a molecular mass of 58 kDa bound to the three bcl-2 sites and to the immunoglobulin enhancer site. This protein reacted with an antibody against Ets family proteins. Constructs with the isolated pi 1 sites linked to the simian virus 40 promoter were used in transient transfection experiments in the pre-B-cell line. The bcl-2 sites decreased expression of the simian virus 40 promoter, while the immunoglobulin enhancer site increased its expression. The pi 1 sites in the bcl-2 gene may play a role in the developmental regulation of bcl-2 expression during B-cell differentiation.