STAT5-Dependent CyclinD1 and Bcl-xL Expression in Bcr-Abl-Transformed Cells

Signal transducers and activators of transcription (STATs) are a family of transcription factors that were originally identified as mediators of cytokine-induced gene expression. We and others have recently shown that STAT5 also plays a major role in cellular transformation by the Bcr-Abl oncogene. Here we show that the antiapoptotic bcl-xL gene product and the cell cycle regulator cyclin D1 are targets of STAT5 in Bcr-Abl-transformed cells. In the CML cell line K562 and in BaF3 cells ectopically expressing Bcr-Abl, both the cyclin D1 and bcl-x promoters are highly active. The activity of these promoters can be strongly repressed by cotransfection of a dominant negative (DN) mutant of STAT5. Moreover, the cyclin D1 and bcl-x promoters contain STAT binding sites to which STAT5 constitutively binds in Bcr-Abl transformed cells. These results suggest that STAT5 contributes to transformation by Bcr-Abl by induction of cyclin D1 and bcl-xL expression.