Transcriptional factors for specific globin genes.
Correct temporal control of the beta-like globin cluster is generated in part by the binding of tissue-restricted transcriptional regulators to their cognate sites. Erythroid Krüppel-like Factor (EKLF) is one of these red cell-specific activators that is particularly important for switching on adult beta-globin gene expression. However, its simple presence is not sufficient to activate the beta-globin promoter, as primitive erythroid cells and a number of erythroid cell lines express EKLF yet do not express adult beta-globin. One explanation that may account for these observations is that post-translational modification of EKLF differs within these cell populations. To address this issue, we are investigating whether phosphorylation plays a role in modulating EKLF activity. In vitro and in vivo approaches have been used to demonstrate that EKLF is a phosphoprotein whose ability to bind DNA and transcriptionally activate an adjacent promoter is critically dependent on its phosphorylation status. Of particular interest is a casein kinase II site within the EKLF minimal transactivation domain.
Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Brookdale Center for Molecular Biology, New York, New York 10029, USA. jbieker@smtplink.mssm.edu
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Ouyang
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Chen
D000328:Adult; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D005914:Globins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D051741:Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D015533:Transcriptional Activation; D016335:Zinc Fingers
D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D051741:Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors; D014157:Transcription Factors; C080774:erythroid Kruppel-like factor; D005914:Globins