Recombinant MafA protein containing its own protein transduction domain stimulates insulin gene expression in IEC-6...

MafA, a basic leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factor, functions as a potent activator of insulin gene transcription in β-cell. In this paper, we aimed to investigate whether the entire MafA protein has the self-delivery activity, and that the arginine- and lysine-rich sequence in MafA bZIP domain is an efficient protein transduction domain (PTD).

Entire MafA protein internalization was evaluated with Western blot and immunofluorescence. The distribution of the PTD-EGFP (enhanced green fluorescence protein) was examined by fluorescent microscope observation. Luciferase reporter assay was used to investigate the effect of the transduced MafA protein on insulin 2 promoter activity. Additionally, we conducted RT-PCR to detect the expression of insulin mRNA in MafA treated IEC-6 cells.

The arginine- and lysine-rich peptide of MafA serves as a novel PTD. PTD-EGFP can permeate into various cell types including Min6 (a β-cell line), and transduce in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The cellular uptake of MafA PTD can be completely blocked by heparin, whereas cytochalasin D and amiloride were partially effective in blocking the PTD-EGFP protein entry. Transduced intact MafA protein behaves in the same way as the endogenous MafA, stimulating the transcription of insulin promoter and further inducing insulin expression in treated non-β-cell line (IEC-6).

These results indicate that the MafA PTD could serve as a therapeutic delivery vehicle, and further suggest that MafA protein transduction could be a valuable strategy for enhancing insulin gene transcription without requiring gene transfer technology.