Subclass-specific nuclear localization of a novel CD4 silencer binding factor.

The control of CD4 expression is essential for proper T lymphocyte development. We have previously described a cis-acting silencer element required for repressing transcription of the CD4 gene. Here we report the cloning and characterization of a novel factor that binds to a critical functional site in the CD4 silencer. This factor, referred to as silencer-associated factor (SAF), is a member of the helix-turn-helix factor family and shares sequence similarity with the homeodomain class of transcriptional regulators. Introduction of a specific mutation into the SAF binding site in the CD4 silencer abrogates silencer activity in transgenic mice, supporting the hypothesis that SAF is important in mediating silencer function. Although SAF is expressed in all lymphocytes, immunofluorescence studies indicate that SAF is present primarily in the cytoplasm in T cells in which the endogenous silencer is nonfunctional, whereas it is present primarily in the nucleus in T cells in which the silencer is functional. We thus hypothesize that the subclass-specific subcellular compartmentalization of SAF plays an important role in mediating the specificity of function of the CD4 silencer during T cell development.