Essential proto-oncogenic transcriptional regulator necessary for development and differentiation of erythroid and megakaryocytic lineages. Transcriptional repressor or activator depending on both promoter and cell type context; represses promoter activity of SOCS1 and SOCS3 and thus, may regulate cytokine signaling pathways. Cooperates with GATA1 to repress target gene transcription, such as the apoptosis regulator BCL2L1; GFI1B silencing in leukemic cell lines markedly increase apoptosis rate. Inhibits down-regulation of MYC and MYB as well as the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor CDKN1A/P21WAF1 in IL6-treated myelomonocytic cells. Represses expression of GATA3 in T-cell lymphomas and inhibits GATA1-mediated transcription; as GATA1 also mediates erythroid GFI1B transcription, both GATA1 and GFI1B participate in a feedback regulatory pathway controlling the expression of GFI1B gene in erythroid cells. Suppresses GATA1-mediated stimulation of GFI1B promoter through protein interaction. Binds to gamma-satellite DNA and to its own promoter, auto-repressing its own expression. Alters histone methylation by recruiting histone methyltransferase to target genes promoters. Plays a role in heterochromatin formation.1) Osawa M., Yamaguchi T., Nakamura Y., Kaneko S., Onodera M., Sawada K., Jegalian A., Wu H., Nakauchi H., Iwama A. Blood 100:2769-2777 (2002) Huang D. -Y., Kuo Y. -Y., Chang Z. -F. Nucleic Acids Res. 33:5331-5342 (2005) Vassen L., Fiolka K., Moeroey T. EMBO J. 25:2409-2419 (2006)
Immunogen
GFI1b antibody was raised against a peptide sequence around aa.322~326 (H-R-E-S-Q) derived from Human GFI1b.