NFYA

Nuclear transcription factor Y subunit alpha is a protein that in humans is encoded by the NFYA gene.^[5][6]

NFYA
Available structures PDB Ortholog search: PDBe RCSB List of PDB id codes 4AWL
Identifiers
Aliases	NFYA, CBF-A, CBF-B, HAP2, NF-YA, nuclear transcription factor Y subunit alpha
External IDs	OMIM: 189903; MGI: 97316; HomoloGene: 32114; GeneCards: NFYA; OMA:NFYA - orthologs
Gene location (Human) Chr. Chromosome 6 (human)[1] Band 6p21.1 Start 41,072,974 bp[1] End 41,102,403 bp[1]
Gene location (Mouse) Chr. Chromosome 17 (mouse)[2] Band 17 C|17 23.99 cM Start 48,693,913 bp[2] End 48,716,934 bp[2]
RNA expression pattern Bgee Human Mouse (ortholog) Top expressed in buccal mucosa cell ganglionic eminence right testis left testis sperm secondary oocyte testicle bone marrow cells islet of Langerhans monocyte Top expressed in secondary oocyte primary oocyte zygote genital tubercle tail of embryo ganglionic eminence thymus granulocyte yolk sac placenta More reference expression data BioGPS More reference expression data
Gene ontology Molecular function DNA-binding transcription factor activity DNA binding core promoter sequence-specific DNA binding protein binding RNA polymerase II cis-regulatory region sequence-specific DNA binding DNA-binding transcription factor activity, RNA polymerase II-specific Cellular component CCAAT-binding factor complex protein-DNA complex nucleus nucleoplasm RNA polymerase II transcription regulator complex Biological process positive regulation of transcription, DNA-templated regulation of transcription, DNA-templated transcription by RNA polymerase II transcription, DNA-templated rhythmic process regulation of cholesterol biosynthetic process regulation of transcription by RNA polymerase II Sources:Amigo / QuickGO
Orthologs Species Human Mouse Entrez 4800 18044 Ensembl ENSG00000001167 ENSMUSG00000023994 UniProt P23511 P23708 RefSeq (mRNA) NM_021705 NM_002505 NM_001110832 NM_010913 NM_001347401 NM_001347402 NM_001374803 RefSeq (protein) NP_002496 NP_068351 NP_001104302 NP_001334330 NP_001334331 NP_035043 NP_001361732 Location (UCSC) Chr 6: 41.07 – 41.1 Mb Chr 17: 48.69 – 48.72 Mb PubMed search [3] [4]
Wikidata
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Function

The protein encoded by this gene is one subunit of a trimeric complex NF-Y, forming a highly conserved transcription factor that binds to CCAAT motifs in the promoter regions in a variety of genes.^[7] Subunit NFYA associates with a tight dimer composed of the NFYB and NFYC subunits, resulting in a trimer that binds to DNA with high specificity and affinity. The sequence specific interactions of the complex are made by the NFYA subunit, suggesting a role as the regulatory subunit. In addition, there is evidence of post-transcriptional regulation in this gene product, either by protein degradation or control of translation. Further regulation is represented by alternative splicing in the glutamine-rich activation domain, with clear tissue-specific preferences for the two isoforms.^[8]

NF-Y complex serves as a pioneer factor by promoting chromatin accessibility to facilitate other co-localizing cell type-specific transcription factors.^[9]

NF-Y has also been implicated as a central player in transcription start site (TSS) selection in animals.^[10] It safeguards the integrity of the nucleosome-depleted region and PIC localization at protein-coding gene promoters.

Interactions

NFYA has been shown to interact with Serum response factor^[11] and ZHX1.^[11][12] NFYA, NFYB and NFYC form the NFY complex and it has been shown that the NFY complex serves as a pioneer factor by promoting chromatin accessibility to facilitate other co-localizing cell type-specific transcription factors.^[7]

Structure

The atomic structure of the NFY heterotrimer in complex with dsDNA was resolved via X-ray crystallography (PDB ID 4awl).^[13] Using one of the NFYA alpha helices as a template, structure inspired stapled peptides were designed to disrupt the NFY heterotrimer formation by preventing NFYA from binding to the NFYB/C heterodimer.^[14]