Enables DNA-binding transcription factor activity, RNA polymerase II-specific; RNA polymerase II cis-regulatory region sequence-specific DNA binding activity; and enzyme inhibitor activity. Involved in several processes, including defense response to other organism; determination of adult lifespan; and positive regulation of transcription by RNA polymerase II. Located in nucleus. Is expressed in several structures, including Ea; Eal; anal region; head neurons; and intestine. Human ortholog(s) of this gene implicated in several diseases, including adenocarcinoma (multiple); artery disease (multiple); atrial fibrillation (multiple); congenital heart disease (multiple); and pancreatic hypoplasia-diabetes-congenital heart disease syndrome. Orthologous to human GATA4 (GATA binding protein 4); GATA5 (GATA binding protein 5); and GATA6 (GATA binding protein 6).
WB Description
elt-2 encodes a GATA-type transcription factor most similar to the vertebrate GATA4-6 transcription factors required for cardiac and endoderm development (OMIM:601656, 600576); in C. elegans, ELT-2 is required redundantly with ELT-7 for initiating and maintaining terminal differentiation of the intestine and for regulating the intestinal innate immune respone; ELT-2 is expressed solely in the intestine, beginning embryonically at the 2E-cell stage and continuing in all intestinal cells throughout the life of the animal; in the regulatory hierarchy controlling endoderm development, ELT-2 lies downstream of the maternal regulators SKN-1 and POP-1 and the embryonic GATA factors MED-1/-2, and END-1/-3; in turn, ELT-2, along with ELT-7, likely regulates transcription of a number of intestine-specific terminal differentiation genes such as ges-1, ifb-2, pha-4, as well as genes involved in the intestinal innate immune response; ELT-2 also positively autoregulates, presumably to ensure maintenance of intestinal differentiation.