C. Aperlo et al., CONSTITUTIVE C-ETS2 EXPRESSION IN M1D-CELLS INDUCES THEIR DIFFERENTIATION TO MACROPHAGES( MYELOBLAST LEUKEMIC), Molecular and cellular biology, 16(12), 1996, pp. 6851-6858
The expression of c-ets2 is rapidly induced in a variety of myelomonoc
ytic cell lines as they differentiate into macrophages. We find that c
onstitutive expression of c-ets2 in the M1D+ myeloblast leukemic cell
line (M1ets2) is sufficient to push these cells to a more differentiat
ed state, The expression of several differentiation-specific genes is
upregulated in M1ets2 cells, including those encoding macrophage-speci
fic lysozyme M and tumor necrosis factor alpha, which are involved in
bacteriolytic and inflammatory processes, respectively, Transcription
factors c-jun and junB, previously shown to induce partial macrophage
differentiation when overexpressed in myelomonocytic leukemia cell lin
es, are also upregulated in M1ets2 cells, The upregulation of junB is
the result of a direct interaction of Ets2 with ets binding sites of t
he junB promoter, since transient or constitutive Ets2 expression in M
1D+ cells activates junB transcription via ets binding sites, In addit
ion, transfection of a dominant negative mutant of Ets2, devoid of its
transcriptional activation domain, greatly reduces transcriptional ac
tivities of the junB promoter in M1ets2 cells, Finally, unlike their p
arental M1D+ counterparts, M1ets2 cells secrete the macrophage colony-
stimulating factor, CSF-1, and are able to phagocytize. Taken together
, these results show that when the immature myeloid M1D+ cell line con
stitutively expresses c-ets2, these cells acquire different functions
of mature macrophages.