Utilization of signal transduction pathway by the human T-cell leukemia virus type I transcriptional activator tax.

The human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) trans-activator (tax)-inducible enhancer was localized to three copies of 21-base-pair repeats within the long terminal repeat. Interestingly, the TGACG motif found in the center of the 21-base-pair tax-responsive element (TRE) is also present in the cyclic AMP (cAMP)-responsive elements (CREs) and activating transcription factor (ATF)-binding sites. In this study, we demonstrate that the three TRE-binding proteins, TREB-1, TREB-2, and TREB-3, also bind to various CREs and ATF-binding sites and that the TREs can confer upon a heterologous promoter responsiveness to various inducing agents, including tax, cAMP, and E1a. Furthermore, the transcriptional activation of the HTLV-I promoter by tax can be inhibited by several protein kinase inhibitors, including sangivamycin. Our results indicate that the TREs, CREs, and ATF-binding sites are similar cis-acting elements and further suggest (i) that the transcriptional activation of the HTLV-I promoter by tax involves the action of a protein kinase and (ii) that induction by tax, cAMP, and E1a might be mediated by distinct factors or kinases.