NF-ATp: a transcription factor required for the co-ordinate induction of several cytokine genes

Abstract

The transcription factor NF-ATp is a target in activated T cells for the calcium-regulated phosphatase calcineurin, and is therefore a secondary target for the immunosuppressive drugs cyclosporin A and FK506. Here, Anjana Rao describes how NF-ATp cooperates with Fos- and Jun-family proteins to mediate transcription of the interleukin 2 gene, and how it may participate in the calcium-dependent transcription of other cytokine genes in several types of immune-system cells.