Critical role for the Oct-2/OCA-B partnership in Ig-secreting cells

B and T lymphocytes arise from a common precursor in the bone marrow, but ultimately acquire very different functions. The difference in function is largely attributable to the expression of tissue-specific transcription factors that activate discrete sets of genes. In previous studies we and others have shown that the specialized genes expressed by Ig-secreting cells cease transcription when these cells are fused to a T lymphoma. The extinguished genes include those encoding Ig, J chain, and the transcription factors Oct-2, PU.1, and the coactivator OCA-B. Remarkably, if we sustain Oct-2 expression during cell fusion, all the other tissue-specific genes of the Ig-secreting cell simultaneously escape silencing. This suggests that Oct-2 plays a central role in maintaining the gene expression program of these cells. In the present studies we have investigated the roles of the transcription factor PU.1 and the coactivator OCA-B within the hierarchy of regulatory factors that sustain Ig-secreting cell function. Our results show that OCA-B and Oct-2 are regulatory partners in this process and that PU.1 plays a subordinate role at this cell stage.