title: Oct-1, to go or not to go? That is the PolII question.
abstract: The Oct transcription factors recognise an octamer DNA element from which they regulate transcription of specific target genes. Oct-1 is the only member of the subfamily that is ubiquitously expressed and has a wide role in transcriptional control. Through interaction with various partner proteins, Oct-1 can modulate accessibility to the chromatin to recruit the transcription machinery and form the pre-initiation complex. The recruited PolII is induced to initiate transcription and stalled until elongation is triggered on interaction with signalling transcription factors. In this way, Oct-1 can fulfil general roles in transcription by opening the chromatin as well as transduce extracellular signals by relaying activation through various interacting partners. The emerging picture of Oct-1 is that of a complex and versatile transcription factor with fundamental functions in cell homeostasis and signal response in general as well as cell specific contexts. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: The Oct Transcription Factor Family, edited by Dr. Dean Tantin.
authors.affiliation: The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton CB10 1SA, Cambridgeshire, UK. Electronic address: alena.pance@sanger.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Alena
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pance
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002843:Chromatin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D042002:Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly; D005057:Eukaryotic Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D056484:Jumonji Domain-Containing Histone Demethylases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D056245:Mi-2 Nucleosome Remodeling and Deacetylase Complex / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D050811:Octamer Transcription Factor-1 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D011485:Protein Binding; D012319:RNA Polymerase II / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin; D050811:Octamer Transcription Factor-1; C494165:POU2F1 protein, human; D056484:Jumonji Domain-Containing Histone Demethylases; C530247:KDM3A protein, human; D012319:RNA Polymerase II; D056245:Mi-2 Nucleosome Remodeling and Deacetylase Complex
keywords: Oct transcription factors; Oct-1 POU2f1; PolII pausing; RNA PolII; transcriptional regulation mechanisms