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The c-ets proto-oncogenes encode transcription factors that cooperate with c-Fos and c-Jun for transcriptional activation

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Abstract

CELL transformation by oncogenes leads to changes in gene expression. A key event in this process seems to be activation of the transcription factors AP-1 and PEA 3 (refs 1–5). Their synergistic activities are required for efficient activation of transcription from different promoters by many different oncogenes, serum growth factors and the tumour promoter TPA4,5. We show here that the products of the ets-1 and -2 proto-oncogenes, whose biological function was previously unknown6–11, are transcription factors that activate transcription through the PEA 3 motif. The p68c-ets-1 protein specifically binds to DNA and contains a transcriptional activation domain. The ets-like gene family therefore seems to encode a new family of transcription factors, apparently unrelated to other transcription factors. The p68c-ets-1 protein cooperates with c-Fos and c-Jun (components of AP-1) for activation of transcription from the oncogene-responsive domain of the polyoma enhancer, indicating that combined activity of all three oncoproteins could be involved in the response of cells to growth stimuli.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire de Génétique Moléculaire des Eucaryotes du CNRS, Unité 184 de Biologie Moléculaire et de Génie Génétique de I'INSERM, Institut de Chimie Biologique, Faculté de Médecine, 11 rue Humann, 67085, Strasbourg Cédex, France

    B. Wasylyk, C. Wasylyk & P. Flores

  2. Unité d'Oncologie Moléculaire, INSERM U186, CNRS 1160, Institut Pasteur de Lille, 1 rue Calmette, 59019, Lille Cédex, France

    A. Begue, D. Leprince & D. Stehelin

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  1. B. Wasylyk
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  2. C. Wasylyk
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  3. P. Flores
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  4. A. Begue
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  5. D. Leprince
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  6. D. Stehelin
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Wasylyk, B., Wasylyk, C., Flores, P. et al. The c-ets proto-oncogenes encode transcription factors that cooperate with c-Fos and c-Jun for transcriptional activation. Nature 346, 191–193 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1038/346191a0

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