The inhibitory ankyrin and activator Rel proteins

Abstract

The gene families encoding the proteins NF-κB, c-Rel and Dorsal, in conjunction with their respective inhibitors IκB, pp40, and Cactus, achieve specificity in gene regulation by means of common principles. The related activities of NF-κB and Dorsal are mediated by heterodimeric or homodimeric complexes of proteins containing the conserved dimerization and DNA-binding domain termed Rel. The IκBs and Cactus, which share a core series of structural repeats termed ankyrin, inhibit cognate activators through differential interactions with the Rel-homology domain. Together, the inhibitory ankyrin proteins and their cognate Rel dimers probably define specific signalling pathways able to activate specific gene expression. Both gene families include proto-oncogenes, thus broadly implicating Rel/IκB in the control of both normal gene expression and the abberant gene expression that makes cells cancerous.