The roles of GATA-4, -5 and -6 in vertebrate heart development.

Journal article

The transcription factors GATA-4, -5 and -6 are expressed very early in heart tissue. Essential GATA sites have been detected in several cardiac genes and the cardiac GATA factors interact with a wide variety of cofactors which synergistically increase gene expression. These multi-protein transcriptional complexes confer promoter-specificity on the GATA factors and also on the more broadly expressed cofactors. Here we summarise the data on these interactions and represent the conclusions as a GATA factor-based genetic regulatory network for the heart. Of the three cardiac GATAs, GATA-4 is by far the most extensively studied, however, loss-of-function data question its presumed dominance during heart development as opposed to hypertrophy.

Authors: Peterkin, T; Gibson, A; Loose, M; Patient, R

• Publication status: Published
• Journal: Seminars in cell and developmental biology
• Volume: 16
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 83-94
• Publication date: 2005-02-01
• DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2004.10.003
• EISSN: 1096-3634
• ISSN: 1084-9521
• Language: English
• Keywords: Transcription Factors; Animals; Vertebrates; GATA4 Transcription Factor; DNA-Binding Proteins; GATA6 Transcription Factor; Heart; GATA5 Transcription Factor; Gene Expression Regulation