TATA Element Modulatory Factor (TMF1)

The TATA element, or TATA box, is a critical cis-acting regulatory element in many promoters transcribed by RNA polymerase II. The RNA polymerase II transcription factor D is a biochemically defined HeLa cell nuclear fraction containing a transcription factor activity that binds specifically to the TATA box. The DNA-binding subunit of TFIID is the TATA box-binding protein . TMF binds to the HIV-1 TATA element in gel-retardation assays and inhibits activation of the HIV-1 long terminal repeat by TBP in in vitro transcription assays. Sequence analysis of the TMF cDNA revealed leucine zipper motifs and homology in its DNA-binding domain with the phage-encoded DNA binding protein Ner. In cataloging sequences from a human adult testis expression library, Affara et al. (1994) also identified a cDNA clone for TMF.