Cooperative DNA binding by a splice variant of the transcription factor ETS1 that lacks autoinhibition

ETS1 is the archetypal member of the metazoan ETS transcription factor family. All the members of this family bind to the conserved GGA(A/T) core ETS binding sequence (EBS). Several ETS family members exhibit autoinhibition, wherein one domain of ETS blocks its own DNA-binding activity until certain conditions are met. Relief of autoinhibition in these proteins is coupled to homo- or hetero-dimer formation. Relief of autoinhibition in full-length ETS1 is catalyzed by non-specific interaction with DNA, which facilitates the formation of protein dimers.The ETS1 splice variant, ETS1-p42, lacks an exon that encodes a crucial part of the autoinhibitory module. Thus,ETS1-p42 does not autoinhibit.