| Description |
The mediator complex is a multi-protein transcriptional co-activator that is expressed ubiquitously in eukaryotes from yeast to mammals and is required for induction of RNA polymerase II (pol II) transcription by DNA binding transcription factor. One of the proteins in this complex is MED28, also known as Magicin. MED28 is expressed in many cell lines and tissues. It has been shown that a down-regulation of MED28 expression in NIH3T3 cells results in a significant induction of several genes associated with smooth muscle cell differentiation and conversely its over-expression represses expression of SMC genes. MED28 can also form a ternary complex with Grb2 and Merlin, the neurofibromatosis 2 tumor suppressor protein, indicating that MED28 may play a role in Merlin’s tumor suppressive activity. MED28 has also been recently identified as an HIV dependency factor (HDF), suggesting that MED28 may be an important drug target in HIV treatment. At least two isoforms of MED28 are known to exist.
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