The transcriptional repressor Hes1 attenuates inflammation via regulating transcriptional elongation

Most of the known regulatory mechanisms that curb inflammatory gene expression target pre-transcription initiation steps and evidence for regulation of inflammatory gene expression post initiation remains scarce. Here we show that transcription repressor hairy and enhancer of split 1 (Hes1) suppresses production of CXCL1, a chemokine crucial for recruiting neutrophils. Hes1 negatively regulates neutrophil recruitment in vivo in a manner that is dependent on macrophage-produced CXCL1 and attenuates severity of inflammatory arthritis. Mechanistically, inhibition of Cxcl1 expression by Hes1 does not involve modification of transcription initiation. Instead, Hes1 inhibits signal-induced recruitment of positive transcription elongation complex P-TEFb, thereby preventing phosphorylation of RNA polymerase II on serine-2 and productive elongation. Thus, our results identify Hes1 as a homeostatic suppressor of inflammatory responses which exerts its suppressive function by regulating transcription elongation.