IFN-gamma inducibility of class II transactivator is specifically lacking in human tumour lines: relevance to retinoblastoma protein rescue of IFN-gamma inducibility of the HLA class II genes.

We have previously reported that HLA class II induction by IFN-gamma is rescuable by reconstitution of functional retinoblastoma protein (RB) in two RB-defective tumour lines: the breast carcinoma line, MDA-468-S4 (S4) and the non-small cell lung carcinoma line, H2009. To determine the range of tumours and tumour types in which RB rescues HLA class II inducibility, we examined another RB-defective tumour line, the retinoblastoma line, WERI-Rb1. As in the case of S4 and H2009, HLA-DRA and -DRB were non-inducible by IFN-gamma in WERI-Rb1. However, neither inducibility of DRA nor DRB mRNA was resulted in an RB-positive stable transformant of WERI-Rb1, WLRB-8. While guanylate-binding protein (GBP) inducibility indicated that the basic IFN-gamma signal transduction pathway remained intact in WERI-Rb1, mRNA for class II transactivator (CIITA), a mediator of the IFN-gamma activation of the HLA class II genes and several other genes related to immune function, was not detectable in IFN-gamma-treated WERI-Rb1, indicating that the lack of CIITA expression was responsible, at least in part, for the inability of RB to rescue HLA class II-inducibility. The HLA class II-associated invariant chain (Ii), the expression of which is also up-regulated by CIITA, was non-inducible in WERI-Rb1, consistent with non-inducible CIITA. Also, IFN-gamma failed to activate the DRA, DRB and Ii promoters in WERI-Rb1. However, exogenous CIITA expression in WERI-Rb1 activated the DRA, DRB and Ii promoter-chloramphinocol acetyltransferase constructs, confirming that CIITA was not induced in WERI-Rb1 and indicating that other proteins required for activation of the class II and Ii promoters were functional in this cell line. Examination of additional cell lines for GBP and CIITA induction revealed that a specific lack of the CIITA IFN-gamma response is common in human tumour lines. The possible role of CIITA defects in tumorigenesis is discussed.

RB and a novel E2F-1 binding protein in MHC class II deficient B-cell lines and normal IFN-gamma induction of the class IL transactivator CIITA in class II non-inducible RB-defective tumor lines.

The major histocompatibility (MHC) class II genes encode cell surface proteins that bind antigenic peptide for presentation to T-cells. The class II proteins are expressed constitutively on B-cells and EBV-transformed B-cells, and are inducible by IFN-gamma on a wide variety of cell types. Retinoblastoma protein (RB) is a tumor suppressor and functions as a transcriptional repressor by binding and inactivating the transactivator E2F-I. RB-defective tumor lines are non-inducible for MHC class II by IFN-gamma, or very weakly inducible, but transfection of 2 different lines with RB expression vectors re-establishes or substantially enhances class II inducibility. Therefore, we examined the RB status of a series of B-cell mutants that are defective in class II expression, generated either in vitro or derived from Bare Lymphocyte Syndrome (BLS) patients. Nuclear matrix-bound RB was detectable in all cases, indicating that loss of RB is not responsible for decreased class II expression in these lines. A second E2F-I binding protein, most likely DP-I, was also apparently normal in both class II-positive and -negative B-cell lines. We also examined the IFN-gamma induction of CIITA in RB-defective lines. CIITA is a class II gene transactivator known to be defective in one form of BLS and to be required for the induction of MHC class II by IFN-gamma. CIITA mRNA is normally inducible by IFN-gamma in class II non-inducible, RB-defective lines, and in one line, re-expression of RB has no effect on CIITA mRNA induction levels. Thus, the block in MHC class II inducibility in RB-defective cells is not due to a block in CIITA inducibility.