Engagement of surface immunoglobulin on mature B cells leads to rescue from apoptosis and to proliferation. Levels of bcl-2 mRNA and protein increase with cross-linking of surface immunoglobulin. We have located the major positive regulatory region for control of bcl-2 expression in B cells in the 5'-flanking region. The positive region can be divided into an upstream and a downstream regulatory region. The downstream regulatory region contains a cyclic AMP-responsive element (CRE). We show by antibody supershift experiments and UV cross-linking followed by denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis that both CREB and ATF family members bind to this region in vitro. Mutations of the CRE site that result in loss of CREB binding also lead to loss of functional activity of the bcl-2 promoter in transient-transfection assays. The presence of an active CRE site in the bcl-2 promoter implies that the regulation of bcl-2 expression is linked to a signal transduction pathway in B cells. Treatment of the mature B-cell line BAL-17 with either anti-immunoglobulin M or phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate leads to an increase in bcl-2 expression that is mediated by the CRE site. Treatment of the more immature B-cell line, Ramos, with phorbol esters rescues the cells from calcium-dependent apoptosis. bcl-2 expression is increased following phorbol ester treatment, and the increased expression is dependent on the CRE site. These stimuli result in phosphorylation of CREB at serine 133. The phosphorylation of CREB that results in activation is mediated by protein kinase C rather than by protein kinase A. Although the CRE site is necessary, optimal induction of bcl-2 expression requires participation of the upstream regulatory element, suggesting that phosphorylation of CREB alters its interaction with the upstream regulatory element. The CRE site in the bcl-2 promoter appears to play a major role in the induction of bcl-2 expression during the activation of mature B cells and during the rescue of immature B cells from apoptosis. It is possible that the CRE site is responsible for induction of bcl-2 expression in other cell types, particularly those in which protein kinase C is involved.