The emerging role of GATA transcription factors in development and disease

Abstract

The GATA family of transcription factors consists of six proteins (GATA1-6) which are involved in a variety of physiological and pathological processes. GATA1/2/3 are required for differentiation of mesoderm and ectoderm-derived tissues, including the haematopoietic and central nervous system. GATA4/5/6 are implicated in development and differentiation of endoderm- and mesoderm-derived tissues such as induction of differentiation of embryonic stem cells, cardiovascular embryogenesis and guidance of epithelial cell differentiation in the adult.

Figure 1.

Overview of GATA1-6 proteins. The GATA proteins are depicted in the upper part of the figure. The GATA proteins are aligned according to the location of the zinc fingers (ZNI and ZNII). The exon boundaries are depicted above the protein structure. For GATA4 the TADI and TADII are shown. In the lower part of the figure the regions around the zinc fingers are enlarged, with the correspondingAA numbers written next to the GATA sequence. Posttranslational modification (post-transciptional modification) sites and disease-associated alterations are marked on top of the corresponding AA. AA, amino acid; TAD, transcriptional activation domains.

Figure 2.

Distribution of GATA expression in various organs during vertebrate development. The expression of all GATA factors is depicted in the corresponding tissues. The distribution of the expression patterns roughly reflects the two GATA subgroups (GATA1/2/3 versus GATA4/5/6).