Upstream stimulating factors: highly versatile stress-responsive transcription factors

Sébastien Corre (1) , Marie-Dominique Galibert (1)

1 IGDR - Institut de Génétique et Développement de Rennes

Upstream stimulating factors (USF), USF-1 and USF-2, are members of the eucaryotic evolutionary conserved basic-Helix-Loop-Helix-Leucine Zipper transcription factor family. They interact with high affinity to cognate E-box regulatory elements (CANNTG), which are largely represented across the whole genome in eucaryotes. The ubiquitously expressed USF-transcription factors participate in distinct transcriptional processes, mediating recruitment of chromatin remodelling enzymes and interacting with co-activators and members of the transcription pre-initiation complex. Results obtained from both cell lines and knock-out mice indicates that USF factors are key regulators of a wide number of gene regulation networks, including the stress and immune responses, cell cycle and proliferation, lipid and glucid metabolism, and in melanocytes USF-1 has been implicated as a key UV-activated regulator of genes associated with pigmentation. This review will focus on general characteristics of the USF-transcription factors and their place in some regulatory networks.

Mots clés: Humans; Lymphocyte Activation; Melanins; Melanocytes; Mice; Knockout; Promoter Regions; Genetic; Signal Transduction; Transcription Factors; Transcription; Ultraviolet Rays; Upstream Stimulatory Factors; Animals; Cell Cycle; DNA-Binding Proteins; E-Box Elements; Gene Expression Regulation; Genes; Tumor Suppressor; Glucose; Helix-Loop-Helix Motifs

Domaines: Génétique

Sébastien Corre, Marie-Dominique Galibert. Upstream stimulating factors: highly versatile stress-responsive transcription factors. Pigment Cell Research / Sponsored by the European Society for Pigment Cell Research and the International Pigment Cell Society, 2005, 18 (5), pp.337--348. ⟨10.1111/j.1600-0749.2005.00262.x⟩. ⟨hal-01068399⟩