A new γ-interferon-inducible promoter and splice variants of an anti-angiogenic human tRNA synthetase

Abstract

Two forms of human tryptophanyl-tRNA synthetase (TrpRS) are produced in vivo through alternative mRNA splicing. The two forms, full-length TrpRS and mini TrpRS, are catalytically active, but are distinguished by the striking anti-proliferative and anti-angiogenic activity specific to mini TrpRS. Here we describe two new splice variants of human TrpRS mRNA. Their production was strongly regulated by γ-interferon (IFN-γ), an anti-proliferative cytokine known to stimulate the expression of other anti-angiogenic factors. A new IFN-γ-sensitive promoter was demonstrated to drive production of these splice variants. In human endothelial cells, both the newly discovered and a previously reported promoter were shown to respond specifically to IFN-γ and not to other cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α, transforming growth factor-β, interleukin-4 or erythropoietin. In addition, both promoters were stimulated by the 'downstream' interferon regulatory factor 1 that, in turn, is known to be regulated by the 'upstream' signal transducer and activator of transcription 1α subunit. Thus, the tandem promoters provide a dual system to regulate expression and alternative splicing of human TrpRS in vivo. © Oxford University Press 2004; all rights reserved.