Molecular mechanism of allergy-related gene regulation and hematopoietic cell development by transcription factors

Transcriptional regulation for the genes encoding α-and β-chains of the high-affinity receptor for IgE (FcεRI) have been analyzed in mast cells and regulatory mechanisms are beginning to be elucidated. Transcription factors GATA-1 and PU.1 cooperatively transactivate the α-chain gene, and three transcription factors, GATA-1, Oct-1, and MZF-1, are involved in regulation of β-chain gene expression. No single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are functionally related to the allergic diseases have been identified in coding regions of the α- and β-chain genes in a definitive way. However, recent studies on SNPs in the promoter regions have revealed that these genes are probable candidates for new types of allergy-related genes whose transcription levels are affected by transcription factors which discriminate SNPs in the promoters. Another interesting finding on transcription factors functioning in mast cells is that the expression level of PU.1 determines cell fate between mast cells and monocytes.