Download MendeleyStructure of the Forkhead Domain of FOXP2 Bound to DNA.
Stroud, J.C., Wu, Y., Bates, D.L., Han, A., Nowick, K., Paabo, S., Tong, H., Chen, L.(2006) Structure 14: 159-166
- PubMed: 16407075
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.str.2005.10.005
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:
2A07 - PubMed Abstract:
FOXP (FOXP1-4) is a newly defined subfamily of the forkhead box (FOX) transcription factors. A mutation in the FOXP2 forkhead domain cosegregates with a severe speech disorder, whereas several mutations in the FOXP3 forkhead domain are linked to the IPEX syndrome in human and a similar autoimmune phenotype in mice. Here we report a 1.9 A crystal structure of the forkhead domain of human FOXP2 bound to DNA. This structure allows us to revise the previously proposed DNA recognition mechanism and provide a unifying model of DNA binding for the FOX family of proteins. Our studies also reveal that the FOXP2 forkhead domain can form a domain-swapped dimer, made possible by a strategic substitution of a highly conserved proline in conventional FOX proteins with alanine in the P subfamily. Disease-causing mutations in FOXP2 and FOXP3 map either to the DNA binding surface or the domain-swapping dimer interface, functionally corroborating the crystal structure.
Organizational Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado at Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA.
