Papavassiliou A G
European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Differentiation Programme, Heidelberg, Germany.
Anticancer Res. 1994 Sep-Oct;14(5A):1801-5.
Changes in genetic programming of a cell are brought about by modulating the activity of transcription factors which control the initiation of gene transcription by RNA polymerase II. Phosphorylation of transcription factors as a regulatory mechanism is both rapid and readily reversible. Moreover, because a transcription factor can be targeted by several protein kinases and phosphatases, this covalent modification can effectively integrate information carried by multiple signal transduction pathways, thereby providing a palette for great versatility and flexibility in the regulation of gene expression. The CREB/ATF family of transcription factors serves as a paradigm illustrating the phosphorylation-mediated transfer of regulatory information from the cell surface to the nucleus.
细胞遗传程序的变化是通过调节转录因子的活性来实现的，这些转录因子控制着RNA聚合酶II启动基因转录。转录因子的磷酸化作为一种调节机制，既快速又易于逆转。此外，由于一个转录因子可以被多种蛋白激酶和磷酸酶作用，这种共价修饰能够有效地整合多个信号转导途径携带的信息，从而为基因表达调控提供了极大的通用性和灵活性。转录因子的CREB/ATF家族就是一个范例，说明了磷酸化介导的调控信息从细胞表面向细胞核的传递。
