Activation of NF-kappa B by the HTLV-I trans-activator protein Tax requires an additional factor present in lymphoid cells.

The Tax protein of human T-cell leukemia virus is a potent transcriptional activator of viral and cellular genes, including the genes for interleukin 2 and interleukin 2 receptor alpha chain (IL2R alpha). The NF-kappa B protein has been implicated in Tax-mediated activation of IL2R alpha gene expression. We show that activation of NF-kappa B by Tax is an indirect process that requires prior activation of a preexistent factor that is present in lymphoid cells. Deletion mutagenesis revealed that the carboxyl-terminal acidic region of Tax is required for activation of IL2R alpha-directed gene expression but dispensable for activation of the long terminal repeat (LTR). Our findings suggest that activation of viral and cellular gene expression by Tax is achieved through a cascade of events that involves multiple protein-protein associations and that the specificity of these associations is conferred through different domains of the Tax protein.