MHC class II transactivator inhibits IL-4 gene transcription by competing with NF-AT to bind the coactivator CREB binding protein (CBP)/p300

The MHC class II transactivator (CIITA) activates the expression of multiple genes involved in Ag presentation, but inhibits Th2-type cytokine production, including IL-4, during Th1 cell differentiation. Th1 cells derived from CIITA-deficient mice produce both Th1- and Th2-type cytokines, and the introduction of CIITA to Th2 cells down-regulates Th2-type cytokine gene transcription. Here we show that the IL-4 promoter is regulated by multiple protein-protein interactions among CIITA, NF-AT, and coactivator CBP/p300. The introduction of CBP/p300 and NF-AT enhances the IL-4 promoter activity, and this activation was repressed by CIITA. Furthermore, our data show that CIITA competes with NF-AT to bind CBP/p300 and that this competition dramatically influences transcriptional activation of the IL-4 promoter. We identified two domains of CIITA that interact with two distinct domains of CBP/p300 that are also recognized by NF-AT, CIITA mutants that retain the ability to interact with CBP/p300 are sufficient to inhibit NF-AT-mediated IL-4 gene expression.