Functional analysis of basic transcription element (BTE)-binding protein (BTEB) 3 and BTEB4, a novel Sp1-like protein, reveals a subfamily of transcriptional repressors for the BTE site of the cytochrome P4501A1 gene promoter.

The Sp1-like family of transcription factors is emerging as an integral part of the cellular machinery involved in the control of gene expression. Members of this family of proteins contain three highly homologous C-terminal zinc-finger motifs that bind GC-rich sequences found in the promoters of a diverse number of genes, such as the basic transcription element (BTE) in the promoter of the carcinogen-metabolizing cytochrome P4501A1 (CYP1A1) gene. In the present study, we report the molecular and functional characterization of BTE-binding protein (BTEB) 4, a novel ubiquitously expressed member of the Sp1-like proteins family.