Rel induces interferon regulatory factor 4 (IRF-4) expression in lymphocytes: Modulation of interferon-regulated gene expression by Rel/nuclear factor κB

In lymphocytes, the Rel transcription factor is essential in establishing a pattern of gene expression that promotes cell proliferation, survival, and differentiation. Here we show that mitogen-induced expression of interferon (IFN) regulatory factor 4 (IRF-4), a lymphoid-specific member of the IFN family of transcription factors, is Rel dependent. Consistent with IRF-4 functioning as a repressor of IFN-induced gene expression, the absence of IRF-4 expression in c-rel(-/-) B cells coincided with a greater sensitivity of these cells to the antiproliferative activity of IFNs. In turn, enforced expression of an IRF-4 transgene restored IFN modulated c- rel(-/-) B cell proliferation to that of wild-type cells. This cross- regulation between two different signaling pathways represents a novel mechanism that Rel/nuclear factor κB can repress the transcription of IFN- regulated genes in a cell type-specific manner.