Introduction
Purine-rich element binding protein alpha (Purα or PurA), encoded by the PURA gene is a transcription factor with a molecular weight of ~35 kDa. It is known to recognize and bind sequence specific purine-rich regions of ssDNA and ssRNA. Purα is a member of the PUR family of proteins, which includes cousins Purβ and two isoforms of Purγ. In its functional dimeric form Purα is known to repress expression of genes encoding smooth muscle alpha actin (SMαA) and ____. It also plays a crucial role in nervous system development and is known to be involved in cell cycle regulation. Mutations in Purα have been implicated in two neurological diseases: Purα Syndrome and Fragile X-associated Tremor/Ataxia Syndrome (FXTAS) (see Disease section).
You may include any references to papers as in: the use of JSmol in Proteopedia [1] or to the article describing Jmol [2] to the rescue.
Structure
facilitates dimerization of Purα monomers. The association of two repeat III domains forms what is termed the "intermolecular domain".
Function
functions as a homodimer or heterodimer with PurB (and PurG?), PurA is known to repress various genes including
, Y57 (repeat I) and F145 (repeat II) have been implicated in the DNA unwinding activity of PurA.[3]
Disease
Relevance
Structural highlights
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