PUBLICATION

Chick ovalbumin upstream promoter-transcription factors (COUP-TFs): coming of age

Authors
Tsai, S.Y. and Tsai, M.J.
ID
ZDB-PUB-030709-1
Date
1997
Source
Endocrine reviews   18(2): 229-240 (Review)
Registered Authors
Keywords
none
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Biological Evolution*
  • COUP Transcription Factor I
  • Chickens
  • DNA-Binding Proteins/biosynthesis
  • DNA-Binding Proteins/genetics*
  • DNA-Binding Proteins/physiology
  • Drosophila
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
  • Humans
  • Mice
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Multigene Family
  • Ovalbumin/genetics
  • Promoter Regions, Genetic
  • Receptors, Steroid/genetics*
  • Receptors, Thyroid Hormone/genetics*
  • Receptors, Thyroid Hormone/physiology
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Transcription Factors/biosynthesis
  • Transcription Factors/genetics*
  • Transcription Factors/physiology
  • Zebrafish
PubMed
9101138 Full text @ Endocr. Rev.
Abstract
THE steroid/thyroid hormone receptor (TR) superfamily of proteins consists of many ligand-activated transcriptional regulators and a rapidly growing number of orphan receptors (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7). Among the orphan receptors, Chick Ovalbumin Upstream Promoter-Transcription Factor (COUP-TF) is one of the best characterized. COUP-TF was first identified as a homodimer that binds to a direct repeat regulatory element in the chicken ovalbumin promoter (8, 9, 10). This element contains an imperfect direct repeat of AGGTCA sequence, which has been shown to be essential for efficient in vitro transcription of the chicken ovalbumin promoter (8, 9, 11). In the late 1980s, our laboratory successfully purified COUP-TF from HeLa cell nuclear extracts using a combination of conventional and DNA affinity column chromatographic techniques (10, 12). A polyclonal antibody was then generated against the purified material and used to screen a HeLa cell cDNA library (10). A clone that cross-reacted with both the antibody and COUP-TF-binding site was obtained and designated as human COUP-TFI (hCOUP-TFI) (10). In 1988 hCOUP-TFI was also cloned independently by another group via homology to human erbA and named EAR-3 (13). Sequence analysis revealed that COUP-TFI is a member of the steroid/TR superfamily. Subsequently, hCOUP-TFII was cloned based on its high homology to hCOUP-TFI (14). hCOUP-TFII was also cloned independently by another group as an apolipoprotein AI-regulatory protein-1 (ARP-1) from a placental library (15). Through homology screening, homologs of COUP-TFs from many different species have been identified (16, 17), and their expression patterns have been analyzed. In this review, we attempt to provide an overview of COUP-TFs with respect to their structural homology to members of the steroid receptor superfamily, their molecular and biochemical characteristics as putative negative regulators, their expression patterns during development, their regulation, and, most importantly, their possible physiological functions.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping