GATA Zinc Finger Domain Containing Protein 2A (GATAD2A)

hp66alpha is the human orthologue of Xenopus p66, whereas hp66beta, previously identified as a component of the human MeCP1 complex, is a second member of a p66 gene family. Coprecipitation of hp66alpha and MBD2 demonstrates their in vivo association. Confocal microscopy shows a nuclear colocalization of hp66alpha with hp66beta and MBD2 in a speckled pattern. hp66alpha is a potent transcriptional repressor reducing gene activity about 100-fold and is ubiquitously coexpressed with hp66beta in cell lines and in fetal and adult tissues. Interestingly, hp66alpha, which binds with a higher affinity than hp66beta, interacts via two interaction domains in contrast to a single interaction domain present in hp66beta. Two highly related mammalian p66 proteins display overlapping functions and are involved in methylation dependent transcriptional repression.