Interferon-alpha treatment of Daudi cells down-regulates the octamer binding transcription/DNA replication factors Oct-1 and Oct-2.

Treatment of Daudi cells with alpha-interferon (alpha-IFN) results in a considerable decrease in the levels of the octamer-binding DNA replication/transcription factors Oct-1 and Oct-2 and specifically inhibits gene expression by octamer-containing promoters. The inhibitory effect on octamer-binding proteins also occurs after culturing cells with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate but it does not occur following alpha-IFN treatment of an alpha-IFN-resistant variant of the Daudi cell line or of HeLa cells. We discuss the potential role of the decreased levels of octamer-binding proteins in the inhibition of cell proliferation.