Basic leucine zipper (bZIP) domain of bZIP transcription factors: a DNA-binding and dimerization domain
Basic leucine zipper (bZIP) factors comprise one of the most important classes of enhancer-type transcription factors. They act in networks of homo and heterodimers in the regulation of a diverse set of cellular processes including cell survival, learning and memory, lipid metabolism, and cancer progression, among others. They also play important roles in responses to stimuli or stress signals such as cytokines, genotoxic agents, or physiological stresses. The bZIP structural motif contains a basic region and a leucine zipper, composed of alpha helices with leucine residues 7 amino acids apart, which stabilize dimerization with a parallel leucine zipper domain. Dimerization of leucine zippers creates a pair of the adjacent basic regions that bind DNA and undergo conformational change. Dimerization occurs in a specific and predictable manner resulting in hundreds of dimers having unique effects on transcription.
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