3-DIMENSIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE STAT3-BETA HOMODIMER BOUND TO DNA

STAT proteins are a family of eukaryotic transcription factors that me diate the response to a large number of cytokines and growth factors. Upon activation by cell-surface receptors or their associated kinases, STAT proteins dimerize, translocate to the nucleus and bind to specif ic promoter sequences on their target genes. Here we report the first crystal structure of a STAT protein bound to its DNA recognition site at 2.25 Angstrom resolution. The structure provides insight into the v arious steps by which STAT proteins deliver a response signal directly from the cell membrane to their target genes in the nucleus.