Members of the GATA family share a conserved zinc finger DNA-binding domain and are capable of binding the WGATAR consensus sequence. GATA-1 is erythroid-specific and is responsible for the regulated transcription of erythroid genes. It is an essential component in the generation of the erythroid lineage. GATA-2 is expressed in embryonic brain and liver, HeLa and endothelial cells, as well as in erythroid cells. Studies with a modified GATA consensus sequence, AGATCTTA, have shown that GATA-2 and GATA-3 recognize this mutated consensus while GATA-1 has poor recognition of this sequence. This indicates broader regulatory capabilities of GATA-2 and GATA-3 than GATA-1. GATA-3 is highly expressed in T lymphocytes. GATA-4, GATA-5 and GATA-6 comprise a subfamily of transcription factors.
