ERK2 directly binds DNA !

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Profiling the Human Protein-DNA Interactome Reveals ERK2 as a Transcriptional Repressor of Interferon Signaling.

CELL, 139, 610–622, October 30, 2009.

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Surprise, Surprise!!

A new, collaborative paper (8 departments of Johns Hopkins Univ., USA played a part in it) shows that the ubiquitous MAPK member, ERK-2 directly binds to the DNA, and fuctions as a repressor of the Interferon signaling.

The workers have used a combined bioinformatics and protein microarray-based strategy to characterize the human protein-DNA interactome.

They found over three hundred, so-called, unconventional DNA-binding proteins (uDBPs, of which ERK2, acts as a transcriptional repressor for interferon gamma-induced genes.

Although the paper shows very nice EMSA's and ChIP's but, I wonder whatever happened to the concept of "protein-domains" and "motifs" for DNA-binding activity :-)!! Conventional wisdom says that a protein is "supposed" to have 'some' DNA binding motif - HLH, HTH, Zn-finger etc., but i dont know if ERK has any of the them.

But then, really, many so-called transcription factors (like "Estrogen Receptor-alpha") are known to go and sit on the Plasma-membrane when required, inspite of not having h-phobic domains in its structure, and the reason is quite unknown.

Amusing.......and interesting.......the ways of Nature !! :-).

Enjoy!!

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