title: COUP transcription factor is a member of the steroid receptor superfamily.
abstract: The COUP (chicken ovalbumin upstream promoter) transcription factor (COUP-TF) exists in a number of different tissues and is essential for expression of the chicken ovalbumin gene. It binds to the ovalbumin promoter and, in conjunction with a second protein (S300-II), stimulates initiation of transcription in vitro. COUP-TF also binds specifically to the rat insulin promoter element, although the two binding sites share little sequence similarity. Here we report the isolation of a human complementary DNA clone encoding COUP-TF. Comparison of the amino-acid sequence of COUP-TF with known sequences reveals that it is a member of the steroid/thyroid hormone/vitamin receptor superfamily. Consequently, it is the first member of this family that has been shown to function in a cell-free transcription system. We conclude that this superfamily of gene regulators contains proteins which bind and activate distal promoter elements of eukaryotic genes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030.
authors.forename: L H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: S Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Cook
authors.forename: W G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Beattie
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: B W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: O'Malley
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D051838:COUP Transcription Factor I; D002645:Chickens; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D010047:Ovalbumin / Q000235:genetics*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011987:Receptors, Steroid / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D051838:COUP Transcription Factor I; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D011987:Receptors, Steroid; D014157:Transcription Factors; D010047:Ovalbumin