title: Mblk-1 Transcription Factor Family: Its Roles in Various Animals and Regulation by NOL4 Splice Variants in Mammals.
abstract: Transcription factors play critical roles in regulation of neural development and functions. A transcription factor Mblk-1 was previously reported from a screen for factors possibly important for the higher brain functions of the honeybee. This review first summarizes how Mblk-1 was identified, and then provides an overview of the studies of Mblk-1 and their homologs. Mblk-1 family proteins are found broadly in animals and are shown to affect transcription activities. Studies have revealed that the mammalian homologs can interact with several cofactors and together regulate transcription. Interestingly, a recent study using the mouse homologs, Mlr1 and Mlr2, showed that one of their cofactor proteins, NOL4, have several splice variants with different effects on the transactivation activities of Mlr proteins. These findings suggest that there is an additional layer of the regulation of Mblk-1 family proteins by cofactor splice variants and provide novel insights into our current understanding of the roles of the conserved transcription factor family.
authors.affiliation: Division of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920 1192, Japan. seika.t.kiya@staff.kanazawa-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Seika
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takayanagi-Kiya
authors.affiliation: Division of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920 1192, Japan. kiya@staff.kanazawa-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Taketoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kiya
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113 0033, Japan. kunieda@bs.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Takekazu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kunieda
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113 0033, Japan. stkubo@bs.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Takeo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kubo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D004330:Drosophila; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D008322:Mammals; D009024:Morphogenesis / Q000235:genetics; D005810:Multigene Family; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D009928:Organ Specificity; D011485:Protein Binding; D012326:RNA Splicing; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013045:Species Specificity; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D015533:Transcriptional Activation
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; C095837:Eip93F protein, Drosophila; C472166:LCOR protein, human; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors
keywords: E93; LCoR; MBR-1; Mblk-1; Mlr1; NOL4; honeybee; splice variants; transcription cofactor; transcription factor