Forkhead Box Proteins
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The forkhead box proteins (FOX) are proteins in eukaryotes that attach themselves to certain parts of the DNA in the cell nucleus and thereby influence the transcription of genes (so-called transcription factors ). They regulate such important functions as proliferation , differentiation and cell life. Many FOX proteins play an important role in embryonic development.
The group of FOX proteins is characterized by a monomeric DNA binding domain consisting of around 100 amino acids. The DNA binding domain consists of a variant of the helix-turn-helix motif , which consists of three helices and two characteristic large loops , which is therefore also known as the winged helix DNA-binding domain .
The DNA binding domain of the FOX proteins has hardly changed in the course of evolution , which is why the nucleotide sequences of the genes coding for it have remained the same and the corresponding gene segment is referred to as a forkhead box .
history
The first protein from the forkhead family to be described was the Drosophila transcription factor forkhead, discovered by Detlef Weigel and Herbert Jäckle . The name derives from the fork-shaped ( engl. Fork = "fork") change of the head (engl. Head = "head"), which arises when Drosophila embryos the forkhead missing gene.
Since then, a large number of FOX proteins have been discovered specifically in vertebrates. Originally, very different names were used for this, such as HFH, FREAC and fkh. In 2000, a uniform nomenclature was agreed in which these proteins were divided into subclasses from FOXA to FOXR.
Previously known forkhead box proteins
- FOXA1 , FOXA2 , FOXA3
- FOXB1 , FOXB2
- FOXC1 , FOXC2
- FOXD1 , FOXD2 , FOXD3 , FOXD4 , FOXD5 , FOXPD6
- FOXE1 , FOXE2 , FOXE3
- FOXF1 , FOXF2
- FOXG1
- FOXH1
- FOXI1 , FOXI2
- FOXJ1 , FOXJ2 , FOXJ3
- FOXK1 , FOXK2
- FOXL1 , FOXL2
- FOXM1
- FOXN1 , FOXN2 , FOXN3 , FOXN4
- FOXO1 , FOXO2 , FOXO3 , FOXO4
- FOXP1 , FOXP2 , FOXP3 , FOXP4
- FOXQ1
- FOXR1 , FOXR2
literature
- P. Carlsson, M. Mahlapuu: Forkhead transcription factors: key players in development and metabolism. In: Dev. Biol. , 2002, 250 (1): 1-23. PMID 12297093
- OJ Lehmann et al .: Fox's in development and disease. In: Trends Genet. , 2003, 19 (6): 339-344. PMID 12801727
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b K. H. Kaestner et al .: Unified nomenclature for the winged helix / forkhead transcription factors. In: Genes Dev. (2000) 14 (2): 142-146. PMID 10702024
- ↑ D. Weigel, H. Jäckle: The fork head domain: a novel DNA binding motif of eukaryotic transcription factors? In: Cell . (1990) 63 (3): 455-456. PMID 2225060
- ↑ D. Weigel et al .: The homeotic gene fork head encodes a nuclear protein and is expressed in the terminal regions of the Drosophila embryo. In: Cell. (1989) 57 (4): 645-658. PMID 2566386