| First Author | Fujita T | Year | 1989 |
| Journal | Nature | Volume | 337 |
| Issue | 6204 | Pages | 270-2 |
| PubMed ID | 2911367 | Mgi Jnum | J:17558 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:65594 | Doi | 10.1038/337270a0 |
| Citation | Fujita T, et al. (1989) Induction of endogenous IFN-alpha and IFN-beta genes by a regulatory transcription factor, IRF-1. Nature 337(6204):270-2 |
| abstractText | Interferons (IFNs) have an important role in cell growth and differentiation. The most well-known function of IFNs is their antiviral activity; viral infections result in induction of the transcription of the IFN-alpha and IFN-beta genes. Recently we isolated the gene encoding a transcription factor, IRF-1, that may play a part in the induction of IFN genes. Interestingly, the IRF-1 gene itself is virus-inducible, suggesting the importance of de novo production of IRF-1 in IFN gene induction. Here we show that high-level expression of the cloned mouse IRF-1 gene in monkey COS cells results in the induction of endogenous IFN-alpha and IFN-beta genes without viral stimulation. Furthermore, we demonstrate the induction of these genes by an IRF-1/yeast GAL4 chimaeric transcription factor. This may be the first demonstration of the specific induction of silent chromosomal genes by transfection of a single transcription factor gene in mammalian cells. |
