Human smad3 and smad4 are sequence-specific transcription activators

摘要

Two human Smad proteins (Smad3 and Smad4) specifically recognize an identical 8 bp palindromic sequence (GTCTAGAC) (SEQ ID NO: 1). Tandem repeats of this palindrome confer striking TGF- beta responsiveness to a minimal promoter. This responsiveness is abrogated by targeted deletion of the cellular Smad4 gene. DNA molecules comprising the 8 bp palindromic sequence can be used in assays for drug screening and diagnostically.