Linked Life Data

16873887

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/16873887

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
10
pubmed:dateCreated
2006-7-28
pubmed:abstractText
STAT transcription factors have been implicated in many biological processes, particularly host immune defense and development. Here we characterize a STAT orthologue from the nematode, C. elegans. We show that this protein, termed STA-1, is structurally and functionally related to other vertebrate and invertebrate STAT proteins, recognizing a cis DNA element conserved through phylogeny. Unexpectedly, STA-1 lacks the conserved amino-terminal oligomerization domain found in vertebrate and other invertebrate STAT proteins, a feature also lacking in orthologues from a distantly related nematode species and from the slime mold, Dictyostelium discoideum. This absence suggests that a primordial STAT protein lacked this domain, which was accreted later in evolution to provide further regulatory control of STAT signaling. Derivation of null mutants demonstrated that STA-1 is not required for nematode viability, despite its widespread expression in multiple tissues of the worm. However, mutant STA-1 proteins that lack functional coiled-coil and DNA binding domains could still be activated and accumulated in the nucleus, suggesting that DNA binding is not a necessary prerequisite for nuclear retention of activated STAT proteins. Our results shed new light on the evolution and function of the STAT signaling pathway and on the structural requirements for STAT activation.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Aug
pubmed:issn
1530-6860
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Electronic
pubmed:volume
20
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
1641-52
pubmed:dateRevised
2007-11-14
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2006
pubmed:articleTitle
C. elegans STAT: evolution of a regulatory switch.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Pathology and NYU Cancer Institute, New York University School of Medicine, 550 1st Ave. MSB548, New York, New York 10016, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural