c-fos transcriptional activation by IL-2 in mouse CTL-L2 cells is mediated through two distinct signal transduction pathways converging on the same enhancer element.

The c-fos protooncogene is suspected to play a major role during the activation of cells from different lineages. In particular, c-fos transcription is induced upon entry into a proliferation cycle in a wide variety of cell types. In this study, we have transfected an IL-2-dependent murine T cell line with chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) reporter constructs, harboring various regions of the human c-fos promoter. We show that IL-2 induces activation of fos CAT reporter constructs in these cells. Furthermore, the induction by IL-2 is mediated through a dyad symmetry element, the serum response element, which is also responsible for fos CAT reporter constructs activation by PMA, a pharmacologic activator of the protein kinase C (PKC). To assess any involvement of PKC in signal transduction for fos CAT reporter activation by IL-2, CTL-L2 cells were PKC-depleted by treatment with high doses of PMA. Such a treatment abolished the transcriptional response of fos CAT reporter constructs to PMA. In contrast, IL-2 was still able to activate fos CAT transcription, albeit with a lower efficiency. These results suggest that PMA-sensitive PKC might be part of intracellular transduction pathways leading to c-fos transcriptional activation by IL-2, and that at least one alternate pathway participates in the complete response. However, these distinct signal transduction pathways have the same DNA target on c-fos promoter, the serum response element.