CTF/NF-1 binds the stage selector element of the human gamma-globin gene promoter

The human gamma-globin gene undergoes to a transcriptional switch during development, being expressed in the fetus and silenced at birth. It has been proposed that the sequence centered at -50 of the gamma-globin promoter contains a stage selector element (SSE) involved in the gamma- to beta-globin switching. The presence of the SSE confers preferential functional interactions of the promoter with the locus control region (LCR) in the fetal liver. It has been shown that two factors bind the gamma-globin SSE: Sp1 and the stage selector protein (SSP). Here we show that also the ubiquitous transcription factor CTF/NF-1 binds to the -53 to -35 element of the human gamma-globin promoter and its specificity is not influenced by flanking sequences.