DREAM on without calcium

摘要

On page 80 of this issue, Carri6n and co-workers describe an entirely new mechanism for the regulation of gene expression by an increased concentration of calcium ions in response to an incoming cellular signal. The authors have studied transcription from the gene encoding prodynorphin, an opioid peptide, and find that so long as the gene is tightly bound by a protein they call DREAM, transcription is repressed; but when calcium ions occupy their four tailor-made sites on DREAM, it floats off the DNA and allows the neuro-peptide to be expressed.