A GSK-3-mediated transcriptional network maintains repression of immediate early genes in quiescent cells

Glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) plays a central role in cell survival and proliferation, in part by the regulation of transcription. Unlike most protein kinases, GSK-3 is active in quiescent cells in the absence of growth factor signaling. In a recent series of studies, we employed a systems-level approach to understanding the transcription network regulated by GSK-3 in a quiescent cell model. We identified a group of immediate early genes that were upregulated in quiescent cells solely by the inhibition of GSK-3 in the absence of growth factor stimulation. Computational analysis of the upstream sequences of these genes identified statistically over-represented binding sites for the transcription factors CREB, NFκB and AP-1, and the roles of these factors in regulating expression of GSK-3 target genes were verified by chromatin immunoprecipitation and RNA interference. In quiescent cells, GSK-3 inhibits CREB, NFκB and AP-1, thereby maintaining repression of their target genes and contributing to maintenance of cell cycle arrest.