Notch3 and the Notch3-upregulated RNA-binding protein HuD regulate Ikaros alternative splicing

Abstract

Constitutive activation of the transmembrane receptor, Notch3, and loss of function of the hematopoietic transcription repressor, Ikaros (IK), play direct roles in T‐cell differentiation and leukemogenesis that are dependent on pre‐T‐cell receptor (pre‐TCR) signaling. We demonstrate the occurrence of crosstalk between Notch3 and IK that results in transcriptional regulation of the gene encoding the pTα chain of the pre‐TCR. We also show that, in the presence of the pre‐TCR, constitutive activation of Notch3 in thymocytes causes increased expression of dominantnegative non‐DNA‐binding IK isoforms, which are able to restrain the IK inhibition of Notch3's transcriptional activation of pTα. This effect appears to be mediated by Notch3's pre‐TCR‐dependent upregulation of the RNA‐binding protein, HuD. Notch3 signaling thus appears to play a critical role in the diminished IK activity described in several lymphoid leukemias. By exerting transcription‐activating and transcription‐repressing effects on the pTα promoter, Notch3 and IK cooperate in the fine‐tuning of pre‐TCR expression and function, which has important implications for the regulation of thymocyte differentiation and proliferation.