A novel family of TEA domain-containing transcription factors with distinct spatiotemporal expression patterns

We cloned two novel types of TEA domain-containing transcription factor (ETFR-1 and -2) cDNAs. Amino acid sequences deduced for ETFR-1 and -2 as well as those of other known proteins of the same family, TEF-1 and ETF, exhibited significant identity (63-75% overall) to each other not only in the TEA DNA binding domain but also in the C-terminal regions. Northern blot analysis revealed that both the mRNAs were expressed in embryos as well as in many adult tissues, although their levels of expression varied. The results demonstrate that the mammalian TEA domain-containing transcription factor family consists of at least four distinct members, TEF-1, ETF, ETFR-1, and ETFR-2, which exhibit overlapping but differing spatiotemporal expression patterns, suggesting their redundant yet unique roles involved in not only developmental control but also tissue-specific regulation.