MTA1 (metastasis-associated protein 1) is a component of the NURD (nucleosome remodeling and histone deacetylation) complex, which is associated with ATP-dependent chromatin-remodeling and histone deacetylase activity. MTA1 functions in conjunction with other components of NURD to mediate transcriptional repression as it facilitates the association of repressor molecules with the chromatin. Structurally, MTA1 contains a single SH3-binding motif and a zinc finger domain, along with a region similar to the co-repressor protein N-Cor. MTA1 is normally expressed at low levels in various tissues and is more highly expressed in testis. Overexpression of MTA1 correlates with tumor invasion and metastasis in various carcinomas including colorectal, gastrointestinal and breast carcinomas. Elevation of MTA1 levels in these tumors appears to enhance the metastases to lymph nodes, increase mammary cell motility and potentiate growth, and therefore may be an indicator for assessing the potential malignancies of various tumors. A similar protein, MTA2, also designated MTA1-L1 (MTA1-like protein 1), shares more than 55% sequence homology with MTA1 and is ubiquitously expressed.
