The two C/EBP isoforms, IL-6DBP/NF-IL6 and C/EBP delta/NF-IL6 beta, are induced by IL-6 to promote acute phase gene transcription via different mechanisms.

The promoter regions of three IL-6 inducible genes, hemopexin (Hpx), haptoglobin (Hp) and C-reactive protein (CRP) contain cis-acting IL-6 responsive elements (IL-6REs) which are necessary and sufficient to induce IL-6 transcription activation. Transcription factors of the C/EBP family interact with IL-6REs. Among these, IL-6DBP/NF-IL6 plays a key role in IL-6 signal transduction because its trans-activation potential is induced by IL-6 in the human hepatoma cell line Hep3B. We show here that a different C/EBP-related factor, C/EBP delta/NF-IL6 beta, is the major IL-6 induced protein interacting with IL-6REs in the nuclei of Hep3B cells. In contrast to IL-6DBP/NF-IL6, whose activity in Hep3B cells is modulated by IL-6 via a post-translational mechanism, C/EBP delta/NF-IL6 beta is transcriptionally induced by IL-6. Another contrasting feature is that the C/EBP delta cDNA transfected in Hep3B cells activates transcription from an IL-6RE synthetic promoter in a constitutive manner which is not further enhanced by IL-6. Therefore, in Hep3B cells, two distinct members of the C/EBP family are recruited in the IL-6 signal transduction pathway via different mechanisms.