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Endothelial cells respond to treatment with the protease thrombin with increased secretion of the PDGF B-chain. This activation occurs at the transcriptional level and a thrombin response element was identified in the promoter of the PDGF B-chain gene. A transcription factor called the DNA-binding protein B (dbpB) mediates the activation of PDGF B-chain transcription in response to thrombin treatment. DbpB is a member of the Y box family of transcription factors and binds to both RNA and DNA. In the absence of thrombin, endothelial cells contain a 50 kD form of dbpB that binds RNA in the cytoplasm and may play a role as a chaperone for mRNA. The 50 kD version of dbpB also binds DNA to regulate genes containing Y box elements in their promoters. Thrombin activation results in the cleavage of dbpB to a 30 kD form. The proteolytic cleavage releases dbpB from RNA in the nucleus, allowing it to enter the nucleus and binds to a regulatory element distinct from the site recognized by the full length 50 kD dbpB. The genes activated by cleaved dbpB include the PDGF B chain. Dephosphorylation of dbpB also regulates nuclear entry and transcriptional activation.
RNA digestion in vitro can release dbpB in its active form, suggesting that the protease responsible for dbpB may be closely associated in a complex. Identification of the protease that cleaves dbpB, the mechanisms of phosphorylation and dephosphorylation, and elucidation of the signaling path by which thrombin induces dbpB will provide greater understanding of this novel signaling pathway.
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