The product of the c-ets-1 proto-oncogene and the related Ets2 protein act as transcriptional activators of the long terminal repeat of human T cell leukemia virus HTLV-1.

The c-ets-1 proto-oncogene and the related c-ets-2 gene encode related nuclear chromatin-associated proteins which bind DNA in vitro. To investigate the possibility that Ets1 and Ets2 are transcriptional activators, we analyzed the ability of these proteins to trans-activate promoter/enhancer sequences in transient co-transfection experiments. A CAT construct driven by the long terminal repeat of the human T cell leukemia virus, HTLV-1 was found to be trans-activated by both Ets1 and Ets2 in NIH3T3 and HeLa cells. The increased levels of CAT activity were paralleled by increased levels of correctly initiated CAT mRNA. Mutant Ets1 proteins unable to accumulate in the nucleus were found to be inactive. An ets-responsive sequence between positions -117 and -160 of the LTR was identified by analyses of a series of 5' deletion mutants of the HTLV-1 LTR and of dimerized versions of specific motifs of the LTR enhancer region. Using a gel shift binding assay, Ets1 was found to bind specifically to an oligonucleotide corresponding to region -117 to -160. This sequence, which also contributes to Tax1 responsiveness of the HTLV-1 LTR, is characterized by the presence of four repeats of a pentanucleotide sequence of the type CC(T/A)CC. Competition experiments show that integrity of repeats 1 and 4 is important for Ets1 binding. These results show that Ets1 and Ets2 are sequence-specific transcriptional activators. In view of the high level expression of Ets1 in lymphoid cells, Ets1 could be part of the transcription complex which mediates the response to Tax1 and the control of HTLV-1 replication. More generally, Ets1 and Ets2 could regulate transcription of cellular genes.