Interferon activation of the transcription factor Stat91 involves dimerization through SH2-phosphotyrosyl peptide interactions - PubMed (original) (raw)

Comparative Study

. 1994 Mar 11;76(5):821-8.

doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(94)90357-3.

Affiliations

Comparative Study

Interferon activation of the transcription factor Stat91 involves dimerization through SH2-phosphotyrosyl peptide interactions

K Shuai et al. Cell. 1994.

Abstract

Stat91 (a 91 kd protein that acts as a signal transducer and activator of transcription) is inactive in the cytoplasm of untreated cells but is activated by phosphorylation on tyrosine in response to a number of polypeptide ligands, including interferon alpha (IFN-alpha) and IFN-gamma. We report here that the inactive Stat91 in the cytoplasm of untreated cells is a monomer and that upon IFN-gamma-induced phosphorylation it forms a stable homodimer. Only the dimer is capable of binding to a specific DNA sequence directing transcription. Through dissociation and reassociation assays, we show that dimerization of Stat91 is mediated through SH2-phosphotyrosyl peptide interactions. Dimerization involving SH2 recognition of specific phosphotyrosyl peptides may well provide a prototype for interactions among family members of STAT proteins to form different transcription complexes.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

Cited by

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

LinkOut - more resources