Tristetraprolin (TTP), also known as zinc finger protein 36 homolog (ZFP36), is a protein that in humans, mice and rats is encoded by the ZFP36gene.[5][6] It is a member of the TIS11 (TPA-induced sequence) family, along with butyrate response factors 1 and 2.[7]
TTP binds to AU-rich elements (AREs) in the 3'-untranslated regions (UTRs) of the mRNAs of some cytokines and promotes their degradation. For example, TTP is a component of a negative feedback loop that interferes with TNF-alpha production by destabilizing its mRNA.[8] Mice deficient in TTP develop a complex syndrome of inflammatory diseases.[8]
Post-transcriptionally, TTP is regulated in several ways.[7] The subcellular localization of TTP is influenced by interactions with protein partners such as the 14-3-3 family of proteins. These interactions and, possibly, interactions with target mRNAs are affected by the phosphorylation state of TTP, as the protein can be posttranslationally modified by a large number of protein kinases.[7] There is some evidence that the TTP transcript may also be targeted by microRNAs, such as miR-29a.[7]
^Carman JA, Nadler SG (March 2004). "Direct association of tristetraprolin with the nucleoporin CAN/Nup214". Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 315 (2): 445–9. doi:10.1016/j.bbrc.2004.01.080. PMID14766228.
Further reading
Blackshear PJ (2003). "Tristetraprolin and other CCCH tandem zinc-finger proteins in the regulation of mRNA turnover". Biochem. Soc. Trans. 30 (Pt 6): 945–52. doi:10.1042/bst0300945. PMID12440952.
Heximer SP, Forsdyke DR (1993). "A human putative lymphocyte G0/G1 switch gene homologous to a rodent gene encoding a zinc-binding potential transcription factor". DNA Cell Biol. 12 (1): 73–88. doi:10.1089/dna.1993.12.73. PMID8422274.
Huebner K, Druck T, LaForgia S, et al. (1993). "Chromosomal localization of four human zinc finger cDNAs". Hum. Genet. 91 (3): 217–22. doi:10.1007/BF00218259. PMID8478004. S2CID35926610.
Amann BT, Worthington MT, Berg JM (2003). "A Cys3His zinc-binding domain from Nup475/tristetraprolin: a novel fold with a disklike structure". Biochemistry. 42 (1): 217–21. doi:10.1021/bi026988m. PMID12515557.