Elongation Factor RNA Polymerase II Like Protein 2 (ELL2)

The elongation stage of eukaryotic mRNA synthesis is a major site for the regulation of gene expression. Moreover, there is evidence that misregulation of transcription elongation may be a key element in a variety of human diseases. The ELL gene on 19p13.1 was originally isolated as a gene that undergoes frequent translocations with the MLL gene on 11q23 in acute myeloid leukemia. Structure-function studies localized the ELL2 elongation activation domain to an ELL2 N-terminal region that is highly homologous to ELL. Northern blot analysis revealed that ELL2 and ELL are transcribed in many of the same tissues, but that the ratio of their transcripts exhibits tissue-to-tissue variation, raising the possibility that ELL2 and ELL may not perform completely general functions, but instead, may perform gene- or tissue-specific functions.