Protein that regulates the rate of DNA transcription
Transcription factor glossary
gene expression – the process by which information from a gene is used in the synthesis of a functional gene product such as a protein
transcription – the process of making messenger RNA (mRNA) from a DNA template by RNA polymerase
transcription factor – a protein that binds to DNA and regulates gene expression by promoting or suppressing transcription
transcriptional regulation – controlling the rate of gene transcription for example by helping or hindering RNA polymerase binding to DNA
upregulation, activation, or promotion – increase the rate of gene transcription
downregulation, repression, or suppression – decrease the rate of gene transcription
coactivator – a protein (or a small molecule) that works with transcription factors to increase the rate of gene transcription
corepressor – a protein (or a small molecule) that works with transcription factors to decrease the rate of gene transcription
response element – a specific sequence of DNA that a transcription factor binds to
v
t
e
Illustration of an activator
In molecular biology, a transcription factor (TF) (or sequence-specific DNA-binding factor) is a protein that controls the rate of transcription of genetic information from DNA to messenger RNA, by binding to a specific DNA sequence.[1][2] The function of TFs is to regulate—turn on and off—genes in order to make sure that they are expressed in the desired cells at the right time and in the right amount throughout the life of the cell and the organism. Groups of TFs function in a coordinated fashion to direct cell division, cell growth, and cell death throughout life; cell migration and organization (body plan) during embryonic development; and intermittently in response to signals from outside the cell, such as a hormone. There are approximately 1600 TFs in the human genome.[3][4][5] Transcription factors are members of the proteome as well as regulome.
TFs work alone or with other proteins in a complex, by promoting (as an activator), or blocking (as a repressor) the recruitment of RNA polymerase (the enzyme that performs the transcription of genetic information from DNA to RNA) to specific genes.[6][7][8]
A defining feature of TFs is that they contain at least one DNA-binding domain (DBD), which attaches to a specific sequence of DNA adjacent to the genes that they regulate.[9][10] TFs are grouped into classes based on their DBDs.[11][12] Other proteins such as coactivators, chromatin remodelers, histone acetyltransferases, histone deacetylases, kinases, and methylases are also essential to gene regulation, but lack DNA-binding domains, and therefore are not TFs.[13]
TFs are of interest in medicine because TF mutations can cause specific diseases, and medications can be potentially targeted toward them.
^Latchman DS (December 1997). "Transcription factors: an overview". The International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology. 29 (12): 1305–12. doi:10.1016/S1357-2725(97)00085-X. PMC 2002184. PMID 9570129.
^Karin M (February 1990). "Too many transcription factors: positive and negative interactions". The New Biologist. 2 (2): 126–31. PMID 2128034.
^Babu MM, Luscombe NM, Aravind L, Gerstein M, Teichmann SA (June 2004). "Structure and evolution of transcriptional regulatory networks" (PDF). Current Opinion in Structural Biology. 14 (3): 283–91. doi:10.1016/j.sbi.2004.05.004. PMID 15193307.
^How Genes are Regulated: Transcription Factors on YouTube
^Lambert S, Jolma A, Campitelli L, Pratyush Z, Das K, Yin Y, et al. (2018). "The Human Transcription Factors". Cell. 172 (4): 650–665. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2018.01.029. PMID 29425488. The final tally encompasses 1,639 known or likely human TFs.
^Roeder RG (September 1996). "The role of general initiation factors in transcription by RNA polymerase II". Trends in Biochemical Sciences. 21 (9): 327–35. doi:10.1016/S0968-0004(96)10050-5. PMID 8870495.
^Nikolov DB, Burley SK (January 1997). "RNA polymerase II transcription initiation: a structural view". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 94 (1): 15–22. Bibcode:1997PNAS...94...15N. doi:10.1073/pnas.94.1.15. PMC 33652. PMID 8990153.
^Lee TI, Young RA (2000). "Transcription of eukaryotic protein-coding genes". Annual Review of Genetics. 34: 77–137. doi:10.1146/annurev.genet.34.1.77. PMID 11092823.
^Mitchell PJ, Tjian R (July 1989). "Transcriptional regulation in mammalian cells by sequence-specific DNA binding proteins". Science. 245 (4916): 371–8. Bibcode:1989Sci...245..371M. doi:10.1126/science.2667136. PMID 2667136.
^Ptashne M, Gann A (April 1997). "Transcriptional activation by recruitment". Nature. 386 (6625): 569–77. Bibcode:1997Natur.386..569P. doi:10.1038/386569a0. PMID 9121580. S2CID 6203915.
^Jin J, Zhang H, Kong L, Gao G, Luo J (January 2014). "PlantTFDB 3.0: a portal for the functional and evolutionary study of plant transcription factors". Nucleic Acids Research. 42 (Database issue): D1182-7. doi:10.1093/nar/gkt1016. PMC 3965000. PMID 24174544.
^Cite error: The named reference Matys_2006 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Brivanlou AH, Darnell JE (February 2002). "Signal transduction and the control of gene expression". Science. 295 (5556): 813–8. Bibcode:2002Sci...295..813B. doi:10.1126/science.1066355. PMID 11823631. S2CID 14954195.
and 24 Related for: Transcription factor information
molecular biology, a transcriptionfactor (TF) (or sequence-specific DNA-binding factor) is a protein that controls the rate of transcription of genetic information...
Transcriptionfactor Jun is a protein that in humans is encoded by the JUN gene. c-Jun, in combination with protein c-Fos, forms the AP-1 early response...
Transcriptionfactor Sp1, also known as specificity protein 1* is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SP1 gene. The protein encoded by this gene...
This list of manually curated human transcriptionfactors is taken from Lambert, Jolma, Campitelli et al. It was assembled by manual curation. More detailed...
The GATA transcriptionfactor family consists of six DNA-binding proteins (GATA1-6) that regulates transcription of DNA due to their ability to bind to...
Transcriptionfactor TFIIA is a nuclear protein involved in the RNA polymerase II-dependent transcription of DNA. TFIIA is one of several general (basal)...
Transcriptionfactor II D (TFIID) is one of several general transcriptionfactors that make up the RNA polymerase II preinitiation complex. RNA polymerase...
general transcriptionfactor-δ or basic transcriptionfactor 2 was characterized as an indispensable transcriptionfactor in vitro. This factor was also...
Transcriptionfactor Sp7, also called osterix (Osx), is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SP7 gene. It is a member of the Sp family of zinc-finger...
The fluffy (fl) gene of Neurospora crassa is required for asexual sporulation and encodes an 88 kDa polypeptide containing a typical fungal Zn2Cys6 DNA-binding...
Transcriptionfactor Sp8 also known as specificity protein 8 (SP-8) or Btd transcriptionfactor (buttonhead) is a protein that in humans is encoded by...
Activating transcriptionfactor, ATF, is a group of bZIP transcriptionfactors, which act as homodimers or heterodimers with a range of other bZIP factors. First...
The Gal4 transcriptionfactor is a positive regulator of gene expression of galactose-induced genes. This protein represents a large fungal family of transcription...
biology. The regulation of transcription is a vital process in all living organisms. It is orchestrated by transcriptionfactors and other proteins working...
Pribnow box with the help of the sigma factor protein (σ factor) to start transcription. In eukaryotes, transcription is performed in the nucleus by three...
Transformation Specific)) family is one of the largest families of transcriptionfactors and is unique to animals. There are 29 genes in humans, 28 in the...
Transcriptionfactor Sp4 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SP4 gene. Sp4 transcriptionfactor has been shown to interact with E2F1. GRCh38:...
genetics Transcriptionfactor, a protein that controls the rate of transcription of genetic information from DNA to messenger RNA Transcription (music)...
Artificial transcriptionfactors (ATFs) are engineered individual or multi molecule transcriptionfactors that either activate or repress gene transcription (biology)...
promoters. General transcriptionfactors are a group of proteins involved in transcription initiation and regulation. These factors typically have DNA-binding...
molecular biology, transcriptionfactor DP (Dimerization Partner) is a family of proteins which function as transcriptionfactors. DP forms a heterodimer...
Transcriptionfactor II B (TFIIB) is a general transcriptionfactor that is involved in the formation of the RNA polymerase II preinitiation complex (PIC)...