Regulating gene expression – STAT

In the December 15th issue of G&D, Dr, Michael Snyder and colleagues (Yale University) explore transcription factor binding under different cell activation conditions.

The authors used a ChIP-chip approach to map out STAT1 and STAT2 binding sites along the human chromosome 22 after IFN-alpha or IFN-gamma stimulation. They found that STAT1 displays stimulus-dependent binding activity:

While 52 binding sites are conserved between IFN-alpha and IFN-gamma treatment, 100 targets are exclusive to IFN-gamma stimulation. Additional insight into the regulation of gene expression by STAT proteins is particularly important given the widespread clinical usage of interferon treatments in human disease.