Cloning and sequence analysis of human thyroid transcription factor 1

The thyroid transcription factor 1 (TTF-1) is a homeodomain-containing transcription factor that activates the transcriptional activity of thyroid-specific gene promoters by binding to them. Hence, TTF-1 is crucial in the maintenance of the thyroid differentiation phenotype. The authors isolated and analysed the human TTF-1 gene, which shows a striking homology with the rat TTF-1 gene.