Little things that count in transcriptional regulation.
Although the NF-kappaB transcription factor tolerates significant sequence variations in its DNA binding site, NF-kappaB sites show remarkable evolutionary stability. In this issue of Cell, demonstrate that a single nucleotide change in an NF-kappaB binding site changes the dependence of the promoter on a specific coactivator without affecting NF-kappaB binding. These data suggest that binding sites may impart a specific configuration to bound transcription factors.
Institute for Research in Biomedicine, Via Vela 6, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland.
Gioacchino
G
Natoli
D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D018925:Chemokines / Q000378:metabolism; D019281:Dimerization; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D009154:Mutation; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011485:Protein Binding; D011487:Protein Conformation; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
D018925:Chemokines; D016328:NF-kappa B