Human Smad3 and Smad4 are Sequence-Specific Transcription Activators

Mounting evidence suggests that Smad proteins are required for TGFbeta signaling, but the way(s) in which Smad proteins propagate this signal is unclear. It was found that two human Smad proteins (Smad3 and Smad4) could specifically recognize an identical 9 bp palindromic sequence (GTCTAGAC). Tandem repeats of this palindrome conferred striking TGFbeta responsiveness to a minimal promoter. This responsiveness was abrogated by targeted deletion of the cellular Smad4 gene. These results define a novel biochemical property of Smad proteins that is likely to play a direct role in the biologic responses to TGFbeta and related ligands.

Patent (Set) 6,100,032;

Patents:
US 6,100,032

Inventor(s): Vogelstein, Bert

Type of Offer: Licensing



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