The AP-2 family of transcription factors
- The AP-2 family of transcription factors consists of five different proteins in humans and mice: AP-2alpha, AP-2beta, AP-2gamma, AP-2delta and AP-2epsilon. Frogs and fish have known orthologs of some but not all of these proteins, and homologs of the family are also found in protochordates, insects and nematodes. The proteins have a characteristic helix-span-helix motif at the carboxyl terminus, which, together with a central basic region, mediates dimerization and DNA binding. The amino terminus contains the transactivation domain. AP-2 proteins are first expressed in primitive ectoderm of invertebrates and vertebrates; in vertebrates, they are also expressed in the emerging neural-crest cells, and AP-2alpha-/- animals have impairments in neural-crest-derived facial structures. AP-2beta is indispensable for kidney development and AP-2gamma is necessary for the formation of trophectoderm cells shortly after implantation; AP-2alpha and AP-2gamma levels are elevated in human mammary carcinoma and seminoma. The general functions of the family appear to be the cell-type-specific stimulation of proliferation and the suppression of terminal differentiation during embryonic development.
Document Type: | Article |
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Language: | English |
Author: | Dawid Eckert, Sandra Buhl, Susanne Weber, Richard Jäger, Hubert Schorle |
Parent Title (English): | Genome Biology |
Volume: | 6 |
Issue: | 13 |
Article Number: | 246 |
ISSN: | 1474-760X |
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1186/gb-2005-6-13-246 |
PMID: | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16420676 |
Publisher: | BioMed Central |
Date of first publication: | 2005/12/28 |
Departments, institutes and facilities: | Institut für funktionale Gen-Analytik (IFGA) |
Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC): | 6 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / 61 Medizin und Gesundheit / 610 Medizin und Gesundheit |
Entry in this database: | 2018/07/14 |