AP-1 derived from mature monocytes and astrocytes preferentially interacts with the HTLV-I promoter central 21 bp repeat. 
Characterization of the cellular transcription factors interacting with the human T cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) long terminal repeat (LTR) is essential to dissecting the mechanisms involved in viral transcription that may be pertinent to the oncogenic and neuropathogenic processes associated with HTLV-I infection in both the immune and nervous systems. Electrophoretic mobility shift (EMS) analyses utilizing oligonucleotides homologous to each of the 21 bp repeat elements reacted with nuclear extracts derived from cell lines of lymphocytic, monocytic, neuronal, and glial cell origin have demonstrated differential binding of cellular factors to the three 21 bp repeats (1-4). ATF/CREB and Sp family members interacted with the 21 bp repeats to form DNA-protein complexes common to all cell types examined. However, a unique DNA-protein complex was detected when the promoter central 21 bp repeat was reacted with nuclear extracts derived from either the U-373 MG glioblastoma cell line or the THP-1 mature monocytic cell line. Based on nucleotide sequence requirements and immunoreactivity, we demonstrate that this DNA-protein complex is comprised of the AP-1 components, Fos and Jun.