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Basic leucine zipper (bZIP) domain of CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein alpha (CEBPA): a DNA-binding and dimerization domain CEPBA is a critical regulator of myeloid development; it directs granulocyte and monocyte differentiation. It is highly expressed in early myeloid progenitors and is found mutated in over half of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). It is also a key regulator in energy homeostasis; mice deficient of CEBPA show abnormalities in glycogen/lipid synthesis and storage. CEPBA is the longest CEBP protein containing two transactivation domains at the N-terminus followed by a regulatory domain, a bZIP domain, and C-terminal tail. CEBPs (or C/EBPs) are Basic leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factors that regulate many cellular processes. There are six CEBP proteins in mammalian cells including CEBPA (alpha), CEBPB (beta), CEBPG (gamma), CEBPD (delta), and CEBPE (epsilon), which all contain highly conserved bZIP domains at their C-termini and variations at their N-terminal regions. bZIP factors act in networks of homo and heterodimers in the regulation of a diverse set of cellular processes. The bZIP structural motif contains a basic region and a leucine zipper, composed of alpha helices with leucine residues 7 amino acids apart, which stabilize dimerization with a parallel leucine zipper domain. Dimerization of leucine zippers creates a pair of the adjacent basic regions that bind DNA and undergo conformational change. Dimerization occurs in a specific and predictable manner resulting in hundreds of dimers having unique effects on transcription.
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