Characterization of the 5' untranslated region of the human c-fgr gene and identification of the major myelomonocytic c-fgr promoter.

In this study, we have characterized the 5' region of the human c-fgr proto-oncogene and identified the major myelomonocytic c-fgr promoter. Seven distinct 5' untranslated exons were identified and localized to a region extending 13 kb upstream from the first coding exon. Two major promoters were identified, one utilized exclusively in Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-infected B-lymphocyte cell lines, and the other functional only in myelomonocytic cells. Differential promoter utilization and alternative splicing of the 5' untranslated exons give rise to at least six distinct c-fgr mRNA species that differ only in their 5' untranslated regions. Two major mRNAs were identified, c-fgr A and c-fgr 4; these two mRNAs were detected exclusively in EBV-infected B-lymphocyte cell lines and myelomonocytic cells respectively. We have previously demonstrated that c-fgr is transcriptionally activated in U937 cells treated with either 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA) or cycloheximide (CHX). We now show that a DNA fragment extending from -772 to +97 (with respect to the transcription initiation site upstream from exon M4) is responsive to TPA but not CHX treatment in U937 cells. These results suggest that TPA and CHX induce c-fgr mRNA accumulation by different mechanisms.