In molecular biology, BEN domain is a conserved

protein domain In molecular biology, a protein domain is a region of a protein's Peptide, polypeptide chain that is self-stabilizing and that Protein folding, folds independently from the rest. Each domain forms a compact folded Protein tertiary structure, thre ...

found in a variety of eukaryotic

transcriptional regulator In molecular biology and genetics, transcriptional regulation is the means by which a cell regulates the conversion of DNA to RNA ( transcription), thereby orchestrating gene activity. A single gene can be regulated in a range of ways, from alt ...

s and

chromatin Chromatin is a complex of DNA and protein found in eukaryote, eukaryotic cells. The primary function is to package long DNA molecules into more compact, denser structures. This prevents the strands from becoming tangled and also plays important r ...

-associated proteins. It is named after three proteins in which it was first identified: BANP, E5R, and NAC1. The BEN domain is thought to play a critical role in protein-DNA and protein-protein interactions, particularly in

gene silencing Gene silencing is the regulation of gene expression in a cell to prevent the expression of a certain gene. Gene silencing can occur during either Transcription (genetics), transcription or Translation (biology), translation and is often used in res ...

transcriptional regulation In molecular biology and genetics, transcriptional regulation is the means by which a cell regulates the conversion of DNA to RNA ( transcription), thereby orchestrating gene activity. A single gene can be regulated in a range of ways, from al ...

, and

organization. It is commonly involved in processes such as

development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development (music), the process by which thematic material is reshaped * Photographic development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting * Development hell, when a proje ...

, differentiation, and the maintenance of cellular identity through

epigenetic In biology, epigenetics is the study of changes in gene expression that happen without changes to the DNA sequence. The Greek prefix ''epi-'' (ἐπι- "over, outside of, around") in ''epigenetics'' implies features that are "on top of" or "in ...

regulation.

Structure

This domain is predicted to form an all-alpha fold with four conserved helices. Its conservation pattern revealed several conserved residues, most of which have

hydrophobic In chemistry, hydrophobicity is the chemical property of a molecule (called a hydrophobe) that is seemingly repelled from a mass of water. In contrast, hydrophiles are attracted to water. Hydrophobic molecules tend to be nonpolar and, thu ...

side-chains and are likely to stabilize the fold through helix-helix packing. First human BEN domain (BEND3)structure is solved together with TPR (ERCC6L)domain and Stimulates the ERCC6L translocase and ATPase activities.

Function

The BEN domain is predicted to function as an adaptor for the higher-order structuring of chromatin, and recruitment of chromatin modifying factors in

. It has been suggested to mediate protein-DNA and protein-protein interactions during chromatin organization and transcription. The presence of BEN domains in a poxviral early virosomal protein and in polydnaviral proteins also suggests a possible role in the organisation of viral DNA during replication or transcription. They are generally linked to other globular domains with functions related to transcriptional

regulation Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. Fo ...

and chromatin structure, such as BTB, C4DM, and C2H2

finger A finger is a prominent digit (anatomy), digit on the forelimbs of most tetrapod vertebrate animals, especially those with prehensile extremities (i.e. hands) such as humans and other primates. Most tetrapods have five digits (dactyly, pentadact ...

Examples

The BEN domain is found across the tree of life. In humans, it is found in 9 proteins: BANP, BEND2, BEND3, BEND4, BEND5, BEND6, BEND7, NACC1 (BEND8) and NACC2 (BEND9).

In humans

* SMAR1 (Scaffold/Matrix attachment region-binding protein 1; also known as BANP), a tumour-suppressor MAR-binding protein that down-regulates Cyclin D1 expression by recruiting HDAC1-mSin3A co-repressor

complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

at Cyclin D1 promoter locus; SMAR1 is the target of

prostaglandin Prostaglandins (PG) are a group of physiology, physiologically active lipid compounds called eicosanoids that have diverse hormone-like effects in animals. Prostaglandins have been found in almost every Tissue (biology), tissue in humans and ot ...

A2 (PGA2) induced growth arrest. * NACC1, a novel member of the POZ/BTB (Pox

virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living Cell (biology), cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Viruses are ...

and

Zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...

finger/Broad complex, Tramtrack and Bric-a-brac), but which varies from other

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

s of this class in that it lacks the characteristic DNA-binding motif. *

BEND2 Bend may refer to: Places Canada * Bend, British Columbia, a railway point United States * Bend, California * Bend, Missouri * Bend, Oregon * Bend, South Dakota * Bend, Texas Science, technology and engineering * Bending, the deformation o ...

, a protein of unknown function, that is predicted to be involved in chromatin modification and has been associated clinically with central nervous system disorders.

In other organisms

* Mod(mdg4) isoform C, the modifier of the mdg4 locus in ''

Drosophila ''Drosophila'' (), from Ancient Greek δρόσος (''drósos''), meaning "dew", and φίλος (''phílos''), meaning "loving", is a genus of fly, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "small fruit flies" or p ...

melanogaster'' (Fruit fly), where mdg4 encodes

proteins Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, re ...

which are involved in position effect variegation, establishment of chromatin boundaries,

nerve A nerve is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of nerve fibers (called axons). Nerves have historically been considered the basic units of the peripheral nervous system. A nerve provides a common pathway for the Electrochemistry, electrochemical nerv ...

path finding, meiotic

chromosome A chromosome is a package of DNA containing part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes, the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with nucleosome-forming packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells, the most import ...

pairing and

apoptosis Apoptosis (from ) is a form of programmed cell death that occurs in multicellular organisms and in some eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms such as yeast. Biochemistry, Biochemical events lead to characteristic cell changes (Morphology (biol ...

Trans-splicing ''Trans''-splicing is a special form of RNA processing where exons from two different primary RNA transcripts are joined end to end and ligated. It is usually found in eukaryotes and mediated by the spliceosome, although some bacteria and archa ...

of Mod(mdg4) produces at least 26 transcripts. * E5R protein from Chordopoxvirus virosomes, which is found in

cytoplasm The cytoplasm describes all the material within a eukaryotic or prokaryotic cell, enclosed by the cell membrane, including the organelles and excluding the nucleus in eukaryotic cells. The material inside the nucleus of a eukaryotic cell a ...

ic sites of viral DNA replication. *Several proteins of polydnaviruses.

Structure

Function

Examples

In humans

In other organisms

References

Further reading