Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 18, 2026

Spectrophotometric Screening for Potential Inhibitors of Cytosolic Glutathione S-Transferases
Published on: October 10, 2020
GFZF, a Glutathione S-Transferase Protein Implicated in Cell Cycle Regulation and Hybrid Inviability, Is a
Douglas G Baumann1, Mu-Shui Dai2, Hua Lu3
1Center for Eukaryotic Gene Regulation, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA.
Abstract:
The core promoters of protein-encoding genes play a central role in regulating transcription. M1BP is a transcriptional activator that associates with a core promoter element known as Motif 1 that resides at thousands of genes in Drosophila To gain insight into how M1BP functions, we identified an interacting protein called GFZF. GFZF had been previously identified in genetic screens for factors involved in maintenance of hybrid inviability, the G2-M DNA damage checkpoint, and RAS/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling, but its contribution to these processes was unknown. Here, we show that GFZF resides in the nucleus and functions as a transcriptional coactivator. In addition, we show that GFZF is a glutathione S-transferase (GST). Thus, GFZF is the first transcriptional coactivator with intrinsic GST activity, and its identification as a transcriptional coactivator provides an explanation for its role in numerous biological processes.
Related Concept Videos
Negative Regulator Molecules
Inhibition of Cdk Activity
The Retinoblastoma Gene
The first-ever tumor suppressor gene called Rb was identified in retinoblastoma - a rare eye tumor in children. In inherited forms of the disease, a child inherits one defective copy of the Rb gene, which predisposes them to retinoblastoma. However,...
In-vitro Mutagenesis
The Cell Cycle Control System
Cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdks) are the primary cell cycle regulators and...
Abnormal Proliferation

