u.v.-responsive element (URE)-binding proteins were found to include members of the AP1 and ATF transcription factor families. To elucidate the functional contribution of URE-bound proteins to the characteristics of human melanoma, we have used a dominant negative CREB cDNA which is mutated within the DNA-binding domain and cloned into a mammalian expression vector driven by the RSV promoter (KCREB). As such, KCREB is still capable of heterodimerizing with its associated proteins, yet, due to its poor binding affinity to DNA it out competes transcriptional activity mediated by those proteins. Human melanoma cells (MeWo) were transfected with KCREB and three clones, designated K1, K2, and K10 which express KCREB transcripts were then selected for further characterization. When tested for binding activities in gel shift assays, proteins prepared from the three clones exhibited a different set of complexes than the parent MeWo and control MeWo(neo) cells (transfected with empty expression vector) under normal growth conditions, and after u.v.-irradiation. Using CAT vector, driven by a tetramer URE construct, revealed a striking decrease in transcriptional activity in each of the three clones before as well as after u.v.-irradiation. When tested for radiation resistance MeWo cells were found to exhibit 42% survival to a u.v.-dose of 16 J/m2, whereas, K1, K2 and K10 exhibited only 10.2, 3.9 and 4.2% survival, respectively. Exposure to 2 Gy of X-radiation led to 62.1% survival of MeWo as compared with 18.5% of K1 and 7.7% and 6.5% of K2 and K10, respectively. While no significant differences were noticed in their growth rate, all three clones exhibited fewer, and smaller colonies in soft agar, when compared with parent cells. These findings indicate that through their transcriptional activities, CREB and its associated proteins play an important role in the acquisition of characteristic phenotypes of human melanoma cells including resistance to u.v.-irradiation.