The importance of E2A proteins as potent regulators of B- and T- cell formation is firmly established, but their role in activated B- or plasma cells remains unclear. We have recently amplified the cDNA encoding a B-cell restricted basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor member, designated activated B-cell factor 1, from a cDNA library prepared from human plasma cells. The expression pattern of ABF-1 has been demonstrated to be restricted to activated B-cells and EBV-transformed B cell lines. The proposed studies are aimed at investigating the cell- restricted regulatory elements that govern human ABF-1 gene expression as well as analyzing the genomic organization of ABF- 1. A broad spectrum of genetic and biochemical techniques will be used, including gene cloning and sequencing, DNA transfections, electrophoretic-mobility shift assays, Western- and Southern blotting and fluorescence microscopy. The results of these studies will identify transcription factors that regulate ABF-1 gene expression in activated B lymphocytes and EBV-infected B cells. In addition, they will provide important structural information regarding ABF-1 as well as map the chromosomal location of the ABF-1 gene.
| Wong, J; Funes-Duran, M; Ahlberg, J et al. (2001) Characterization of a basic helix-loop-helix protein, ABF-1: nuclear localization, transcriptional properties, and interaction with Id-2. DNA Cell Biol 20:465-71 |
| Nguyen, L; Round, J; O'Connell, R et al. (2001) Isolation and characterization of the activated B-cell factor 1 homolog in Caenorhabditis elegans. Nucleic Acids Res 29:4423-32 |
