1. Academic Validation
  2. An alternatively spliced isoform of transcriptional repressor ATF3 and its induction by stress stimuli

An alternatively spliced isoform of transcriptional repressor ATF3 and its induction by stress stimuli

  • Nucleic Acids Res. 2002 Jun 1;30(11):2398-406. doi: 10.1093/nar/30.11.2398.
Yoshinori Hashimoto 1 Chun Zhang Junya Kawauchi Issei Imoto Mimi T Adachi Johji Inazawa Teruo Amagasa Tsonwin Hai Shigetaka Kitajima
Affiliations

Affiliation

  • 1 Department of Biochemical Genetics, Medical Research Institute and Graduate School, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45, Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8510, Japan.
Abstract

Activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3) is a member of the ATF/CREB family of transcription factors and its expression is increased by various pathophysiological conditions and in several Cancer cells. In this study, we describe two alternatively spliced ATF3DeltaZip mRNAs: ATF3DeltaZip2a and ATF3DeltaZip2b. Both variants encoded the same truncated protein of 135 Amino acids, which lacked the leucine zipper domain and was incapable of binding to the ATF/CRE motif. The ATF3DeltaZip2 protein was shown to be localized in the nuclei and counteracted the transcriptional repression by the full-length ATF3. Western blot analysis showed that ATF3DeltaZip2 was expressed in cells exposed to A23187. Further study showed that, similar to the full-length ATF3, the expression of ATF3DeltaZip2 was induced by a wide range of stress stimuli. However, its expression was not detectable in Cancer cells that constitutively over-expressed ATF3. Taken together, our results suggest that ATF3DeltaZip2, a protein derived from alternatively spliced mRNAs, is induced by various stress signals and may modulate the activity of the full-length ATF3 protein during stress response.

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