title: AP-1 subunits: quarrel and harmony among siblings.
abstract: The AP-1 transcription factor is mainly composed of Jun, Fos and ATF protein dimers. It mediates gene regulation in response to a plethora of physiological and pathological stimuli, including cytokines, growth factors, stress signals, bacterial and viral infections, as well as oncogenic stimuli. Studies in genetically modified mice and cells have highlighted a crucial role for AP-1 in a variety of cellular events involved in normal development or neoplastic transformation causing cancer. However, emerging evidence indicates that the contribution of AP-1 to determination of cell fates critically depends on the relative abundance of AP-1 subunits, the composition of AP-1 dimers, the quality of stimulus, the cell type and the cellular environment. Therefore, AP-1-mediated regulation of processes such as proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis and transformation should be considered within the context of a complex dynamic network of signalling pathways and other nuclear factors that respond simultaneously.
authors.affiliation: Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Division of Signal Transduction and Growth Control, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Jochen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hess
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Angel
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schorpp-Kistner
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D019070:Cell Lineage; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002470:Cell Survival; D019281:Dimerization; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D015603:Keratinocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D008954:Models, Biological; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000378:metabolism; D016755:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-jun / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D018808:Transcription Factor AP-1 / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos; D016755:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-jun; D018808:Transcription Factor AP-1