Interleukin 3 (IL-3 or multi-colony-stimulating factor) plays an important role in the hematopoietic response to inflammatory stimuli through its action on both immature and mature blood cells. Like other lymphokines, IL-3 is produced in response to activation of the T-cell receptor and protein kinase C pathways. By using nuclear run-on assays of quiescent and stimulated T-cell lines, we demonstrate that IL-3 gene expression is controlled, at least in part, at the level of transcription. Functional reporter gene analysis was used to delineate two regions of the IL-3 5' flanking sequence responsible for transcriptional stimulation. DNA binding proteins that potentially mediate these responses were then recognized by mobility-shift and DNase footprinting assays. One region responsible for transcriptional enhancement was localized to the sequence GATGAATAAT, the cognate site of a transcription factor, here termed NF-IL3-A. A second region of functional activity and protein binding was localized to a single transcription factor AP-1 site. In addition three functionally inhibitory regions were identified. These results, along with the further characterization of NF-IL3-A, will contribute to the understanding of IL-3 gene regulation in stimulated T cells.