Dorsal-B, a splice variant of the Drosophila factor Dorsal, is a novel Rel/NF-kappa B transcriptional activator

Citation
I. Gross et al., Dorsal-B, a splice variant of the Drosophila factor Dorsal, is a novel Rel/NF-kappa B transcriptional activator, GENE, 228(1-2), 1999, pp. 233-242
Citations number
35
Categorie Soggetti
Molecular Biology & Genetics
Journal title
GENE
ISSN journal
03781119 → ACNP
Volume
228
Issue
1-2
Year of publication
1999
Pages
233 - 242
Database
ISI
SICI code
0378-1119(19990304)228:1-2<233:DASVOT>2.0.ZU;2-D
Abstract
The Drosophila transcription factor Dorsal, a member of the Rel/NF-kappa B family of proteins, plays a key role in the establishment of dorsoventral p olarity in the early embryo and is also involved in the immune response. He re, we present evidence that the primary transcript of dorsal can be altern atively spliced, generating Dorsal-B, a new Rel/NF-kappa B family member. D orsal and Dorsal-B are identical in the N-terminal region, which comprises both a DNA-binding domain and a dimerization domain. However, Dorsal-B lack s the nuclear localization signal located at the end of the Rel domain of D orsal and is totally divergent in the C-terminal portion. Although Dorsal-B by itself is not able to induce the expression of a kappa B-controlled Luc iferase reporter gene, we demonstrate that its C-terminal portion has trans activating properties. Analysis of the dorsal-B expression pattern indicate s that the splicing is tissue-specific and excludes a putative role in earl y embryogenesis. However, dorsal-B synthesis is enhanced upon septic injury , and this challenge induces a nuclear accumulation of the protein in fat b ody cells suggesting that it may be involved in the immune response. (C) 19 99 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.