Involvement of PU.1 in mouse adar-1 gene transcription induced by high-dose esiRNA.

Adar-1 gene plays an important role in the negative regulation of RNA interference. We previously showed that increased adar-1 mRNA level was associated with the rebound of gene expression after RNAi suppression. In this study, we identified a PU.1 binding site upstream from transcription start point of adar-1 gene and is essential for the promoter activity. Knockdown and over-expression of the PU.1 gene resulted in decreased and increased activity of adar-1 promoter, respectively. Our results suggest that transcription factor PU.1, could bind to the adar-1 promoter and play a key role in activating transcription of gene induced by high-dose esiRNAs.