A PAR domain transcription factor is involved in the expression from a hematopoietic-specific promoter for the human LMO2 gene.

The transcription factor LMO2 is believed to exert its effect through the formation of protein-protein interactions with other DNA-binding factors such as GATA-1 and TAL1. Although LMO2 has been shown to be critical for the formation of the erythroid cell lineage, the gene is also expressed in a number of nonerythroid tissues. In this report, we demonstrate that the more distal of the 2 promoters for the LMO2 gene is highly restricted in its pattern of expression, directing the hematopoietic-specific expression of this gene. Deletion and mutation analyses have identified a critical cis element in the first untranslated exon of the gene. This element is a consensus-binding site for a small family of basic leucine zipper proteins containing a proline and acidic amino acid-rich (PAR) domain. Although all 3 members of this family are produced in erythroid cells, only 2 of these proteins, thyrotroph embryonic factor and hepatic leukemia factor, can activate transcription from this LMO2 promoter element. These findings represent a novel mechanism in erythroid gene regulation because PAR proteins have not previously been implicated in this process.