Identification of Ets- and Notch-related subunits in GA binding protein

Recombinant cDNA clones that encode two distinct subunits of the transcription actor GA binding protein (GABP) have been isolated. The predicted amino acid sequence of one subunit, GABPα, exhibits similarity to the sequence of the product of the ets-1 protooncogene in a region known to encompass the Ets DNA binding domain. The sequence of the second subunit, GABPβ, contains four 33-amino acid repeats located close to the NH ₂-terminus of the subunit. The sequences of these repeats are similar to repeats in several transmembrane proteins, including Notch from Drosophila melanogaster and Glp-1 and Lin-12 from Caenorhabditis elegans. Avid, sequence-specific binding to DNA required the presence of both polypeptides, revealing a conceptual convergence of nuclear transforming proteins and membrane-anchored proteins implicated in developmentally regulated signal transduction processes.