COUP transcription factor is a member of the steroid receptor superfamily
Abstract
THE COUP (chicken ovalbumin upstream promoter) transcription factor (COUP-TF) exists in a number of different tissues and is essential for expression of the chicken ovalbumin gene1-3. It binds to the ovalbumin promoter and, in conjunction with a second protein (S300-II), stimulates initiation of transcription in vitro. COUP-TF also binds specifically to the rat insulin promoter element4,5, although the two binding sites share little sequence similarity. Here we report the isolation of a human complementary DNA clone encoding COUP-TF. Comparison of the amino-acid sequence of COUP-TF with known sequences reveals that it is a member of the steriod/thyroid hormone/vitamin receptor super-family6. Consequently, it is the first member of this family that has been shown to function in a cell-free transcription system7,8. We conclude that this superfamily of gene regulators contains proteins which bind and activate distal promoter elements of eukaryotic genes.
- Publication:
-
Nature
- Pub Date:
- July 1989
- DOI:
- 10.1038/340163a0
- Bibcode:
- 1989Natur.340..163W