The novel secretory protein CGREF1 inhibits the activation of AP-1 transcriptional activity and cell proliferation

The transcription factor AP-1 plays an important role in inflammation and cell survival. Using a dual-luciferase reporter assay system and a library of 940 candidate human secretory protein cDNA clones, we identified that CGREF1 can inhibit the transcriptional activity of AP-1. We demonstrated that CGREF1 is secreted via the classical secretory pathway through the ER-to-Golgi apparatus. Functional investigations revealed that overexpression of CGREF1 can significantly inhibit the phosphorylation of ERK and p38 MAPK, and suppress the proliferation of HEK293T and HCT116 cells. Conversely, specific siRNAs against CGREF1 can increase the transcriptional activity of AP-1. These results clearly indicated that CGREF1 is a novel secretory protein, and plays an important role in regulation of AP-1 transcriptional activity and cell proliferation.