CEBPA

CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein alpha is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CEBPA gene.

Function

The protein encoded by this intronless gene is a bZIP transcription factor which can bind as a homodimer to certain promoters and enhancers. It can also form heterodimers with the related proteins CEBP-beta and CEBP-gamma. The encoded protein has been shown to bind to the promoter and modulate the expression of the gene encoding leptin, a protein that plays an important role in body weight homeostasis. Also, the encoded protein can interact with CDK2 and CDK4, thereby inhibiting these kinases and causing growth arrest in cultured cells.

Interactions

CEBPA has been shown to interact with Cyclin-dependent kinase 2 and Cyclin-dependent kinase 4.

Clinical significance

It has been shown that mutation of CEBPA has been linked to good outcome in both adult and pediatric acute myeloid leukemia patients.

See also

Ccaat-enhancer-binding proteins

References

Further reading

External links

Human Genome Organisation

The Human Genome Organisation (HUGO) is an organization involved in the Human Genome Project, a project about mapping the human genome. HUGO was established in 1989 as an international organization, primarily to foster collaboration between genome scientists around the world. The HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC), sometimes referred to as "HUGO", is one of HUGO's most active committees and aims to assign a unique gene name and symbol to each human gene.

History

HUGO was established in late April 1988 at the first meeting dedicated to genome mapping at Cold Spring Harbor. The idea of starting the organization stemmed from a South African biologist by the name of Sydney Brenner, who is known for his significant contributions to work on the genetic code and other areas of molecular biology, as well as winning the Nobel prize in Physiology of Medicine in 2002. A Founding Council was elected at the meeting that total 42 scientists from 17 different countries. HUGO is grounded in Geneva Switzerland, and later went on to elect an additional 178 members, bringing the total up to 220.