PU.1 and an HLH family member contribute to the myeloid-specific transcription of the FcγRIIIA promoter

Abstract

Expression of the low-affinity Fc receptor for IgG (murine FcγRIIIA) is restricted to cells of myelomonocytic origin. We report here the promoter structure the proximal DNA sequences responsible for transcription of FcγRIIIA in macrophages and the protein factors which interact with these sequences. A 51 bp sequence, termed the myeloid restricted region (MRR), was both necessary and sufficient for conferring cell type-specific expression in macrophages. Reporter constructs containing mutations in this sequence result in the loss of MRR activity upon transfection into the macrophage cell line, RAW264.7. Two cis-acting elements have been identified and are required for full promoter function. These same elements analyzed by EMSA define two binding sites recognized by nuclear factors derived from macrophages. A 3' purine tract (-50 to -39) within the MRR binds the macrophage and B cell-specific factor, PU.1, and a second E box-like element, termed MyE, upstream of the PU.1 box (-88 to -78) binds the HLH factors TFE3 and USF. EMSA studies using RAW cell extracts suggest that both PU.1 and MyE factors may bind simultaneously to the MRR resulting in a ternary complex that is responsible, in part, for the myeloid-specific activity of the FcγRIIIA promoter.