摘要
Idl is a member of the inhibitor of differentiation （Id） protein family that regulates a wide range of cell functions. Previous studies have shown that expression of the Idl gene is down-regulated by TGF-β in epithelial cells, whereas it is up-regulated by BMP in a variety of cell types. During our study of the biological function of TGF-β1, we found that Idl can be strongly up-regulated by TGF-β1 in the human mammary gland epithelial cell line MCF10A. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR has revealed as high as 7.5-fold induction ofldl mRNA by TGF-β1 in MCF10A cells after 1 h of TGF-β1 stimulation, and this induction does not require de novo protein synthesis. Using Smad knockdown and knockout approaches, we have identified Smad3 as the responsible R-Smad for mediating transcriptional activation of the Idl gene. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay confirms that Smad3 and Smad4 bind to the upstream region of the Idl gene. Our results demonstrate that Smad3, but not Smad2, mediates TGF-β1-dependent early transcriptional induction of Idl.
