Dynamic evolution of immune system regulators: the history of the interferon regulatory factor family.

ABSTRACT: This manuscript presents the first extensive phylogenetics analysis of a key family of immune regulators, the interferon regulatory factor (IRF) family. The IRF family encodes transcription factors that play important roles in immune defense, stress responses, reproduction, development, and carcinogenesis. Several times during their evolution, the IRF genes have undergone expansion and diversification. These genes were also completely lost on two separate occasions in large groups of metazoans. The origin of the IRF family coincides with the appearance of multicellularity in animals. IRF genes are present in all principal metazoan groups, including sea sponges, placozoans, comb jellies, cnidarians, and bilaterians. Although the number of IRF family members does not exceed two in sponges an

SUBMITTER: Nehyba J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2767096 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature