| C/EBP (CCAAT-enhancer binding protein) is a heat-stable, sequence-specific DNA-binding transcription factor that was initially purified from rat liver nuclei. C/EBP binds DNA through a bipartite structural motif and appears to function exclusively in terminally differentiated, growth-arrested cells. Additional family members include C/EBP-beta, C/EBP-gamma, C/EBP-zeta and C/EBP-epsilon, all of which exhibit similar DNA-binding specificities and affinities with C/EBP-alpha. Furthermore, C/EBP-beta and C/EBP-zeta readily form heterodimers with each other as well as with C/EBP-alpha. |
