Background
c-Jun is the putative transforming gene of avian sarcoma virus 17. The protein forms a complex with c-Fos, forming the transcription factor AP-1. AP-1 is a generic term for a dimeric transcription factor that contains members from the Jun, Fos, ATF, and MAF protein families. AP-1 complexes recognize the same sequence motif, termed TRE (TPA responsive element), which is also referred to as the AP-1 binding site. AP-1 activity can be regulated by dimer composition, transcription, post-translational modification and interactions with other proteins. AP-1 proteins play key roles in cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, angiogenesis and tumour invasion. The c-Jun gene is intronless and is mapped to 1p32-p31, a chromosomal region involved in both translocations and deletions in human malignancies. |
