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. 1992 Sep;11(9):3431–3440. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1992.tb05422.x

Characterization of SAF-A, a novel nuclear DNA binding protein from HeLa cells with high affinity for nuclear matrix/scaffold attachment DNA elements.

H Romig 1, F O Fackelmayer 1, A Renz 1, U Ramsperger 1, A Richter 1
PMCID: PMC556878  PMID: 1324173

Abstract

We identified four proteins in nuclear extracts from HeLa cells which specifically bind to a scaffold attachment region (SAR) element from the human genome. Of these four proteins, SAF-A (scaffold attachment factor A), shows the highest affinity for several homologous and heterologous SAR elements from vertebrate cells. SAF-A is an abundant nuclear protein and a constituent of the nuclear matrix and scaffold. The homogeneously purified protein is a novel double stranded DNA binding protein with an apparent molecular weight of 120 kDa. SAF-A binds at multiple sites to the human SAR element; competition studies with synthetic polynucleotides indicate that these sites most probably reside in the multitude of A/T-stretches which are distributed throughout this element. In addition we show by electron microscopy that the protein forms large aggregates and mediates the formation of looped DNA structures.

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