J Biol Chem 1994 Jul 22;26929:18921-30.

A key transcription factor for eukaryotic initiation factor-2 alpha is strongly homologous to developmental transcription factors and may link metabolic genes to cellular growth and development.

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In response to growth, metabolic, and other signals, eukaryotic cells regulate protein biosynthesis through post-translational mechanisms which target the alpha subunit of eukaryotic initiation factor-2 (eIF-2 alpha). Previous efforts to study transcriptional mechanisms underlying this regulation identified a novel transcription factor (alpha-Pal) for the eIF-2 alpha gene. To gain insights into the overall biological function of alpha-Pal, we cloned its cDNA. Sequence analysis of the encoded protein reveals that alpha-Pal is a putative bZIP transcription factor. Surprisingly, both the protein sequence and the DNA-recognition site (TGCGCATGCGCA) of this human protein are strongly homologous to those of two evolutionarily distant developmental transcription factors, P3A2 and ewg. Since P3A2 directs territory-specific transcription of muscle genes in sea urchin embryos, and ewg apparently directs transcription of flight muscle and neuronal genes in Drosophila embryos, it is likely that alpha-Pal directs similar gene transcription during human embryogenesis. In other studies, we also identified genes containing alpha-Pal-binding sequences as those involved in cellular proliferation, or the growth-responsive metabolic pathways, energy transduction, translation, and DNA replication/repair. Such data suggest that alpha-Pal also functions to modulate the transcription of metabolic genes required for cellular growth.

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Genes referenced: LOC100887844 nrf1