The human homeodomain protein OTX2 binds to the human tenascin-C promoter and trans-represses its activity in transfected cells.

Homeodomain-containing proteins mediate many transcriptional processes in eukaryotes during development. Recently, mammalian homeodomain proteins involved in the anterior head formation have been discovered, but their effect on gene transcription has never been investigated. Here we report on the ability of the human homeodomain protein OTX2 to bind with high affinity to a target sequence present in the promoter of the gene encoding the human extracellular matrix protein tenascin-C and to repress its transcriptional activity in transiently transfected cells.