GATA proteins comprise a group of transcription factors that are related by the presence of conserved zinc finger DNA-binding domains, which bind directly to the nucleotide sequence core element GATA. There are six vertebrate GATA proteins, designated GATA-1 to GATA-6. Although they are commonly divided as hematopoietic (GATA-1-3) or cardiac (GATA-4-6) factors, GATA proteins are expressed in a wide variety of tissue and play critical roles in embryonic development and organ differentiation.

GATA-1 is the founding member of the GATA family and is required for erythroid and megakaryocytic cell development. Mutations in the corresponding GATA-1 gene are linked to many human diseases, including acute megakaryoblastic leukemia in Down Syndrome children (DS-AMKL), X-linked thrombocytopenia, and gray platelet syndrome. GATA-2 is widely expressed and plays an essential role in many developmental processes. Studies on GATA-2 knockout mice indicate that this protein is required in hematopoiesis. GATA-2 also inhibits the differentiation of white and brown adipocytes and has been shown to suppress the proliferation of neuronal progenitor cells. GATA-3 is a critical regulator of development and is expressed in both hematopoietic and non-hematopoietic tissues, including the kidney, skin, mammary gland, and central nervous system. GATA-3 knockout mouse embryos die between E11 and E12 due to growth retardation and deformities in the brain and spinal cord. The function of GATA-3 has also been extensively studied in T cell development and has been shown to be a downstream target of Notch in Notch-mediated differentiation of TH2 cells. GATA-4 is crucial for cardiomyocyte differentiation, and not surprisingly, mutations in the GATA-4 gene are implicated in many cardiac diseases, such as tetralogy of Fallot, familial and sporadic dilated cardiomyopathy, and atrial septal defect. GATA-4 and GATA-6 together maintain intestinal epithelial structure by regulating enterocyte gene expression. They also have overlapping roles in steroidogenesis and genital ridge formation during gonadal development. GATA-6 plays a critical role in endoderm development and is essential for the development of the heart, gut, and other organs. Knockout of GATA-6 is embryonic lethal due to defects in the formation of the heart tube and a failure to develop extraembryonic endoderm.

1. Ko LJ, Engel JD. DNA-binding specificities of the GATA transcription factor family. Mol Cell Biol. 1993 Jul;13(7):4011-22. doi: 10.1128/mcb.13.7.4011-4022.1993.[PMID: 8321208].
2. Merika M, Orkin SH. DNA-binding specificity of GATA family transcription factors. Mol Cell Biol. 1993 Jul;13(7):3999-4010. [PMID: 8321207].
3. Debacker C, Catala M, Labastie MC. Embryonic expression of the human GATA-3 gene. Mech Dev. 1999 Jul;85(1-2):183-7. [PMID: 10415360].
4. Kaufman CK, Zhou P, Pasolli HA, Rendl M, Bolotin D, Lim KC, Dai X, Alegre ML, Fuchs E. GATA-3: an unexpected regulator of cell lineage determination in skin. Genes Dev. 2003 Sep 1;17(17):2108-22.[PMID: 12923059].
5. Gan L, Schwengberg S, Denecke B. Transcriptome analysis in cardiomyocyte-specific differentiation of murine embryonic stem cells reveals transcriptional regulation network. Gene Expr Patterns. 2014 Sep;16(1):8-22.[PMID: 25058891].
6. Cai KQ, Capo-Chichi CD, Rula ME, Yang DH, Xu XX. Dynamic GATA6 expression in primitive endoderm formation and maturation in early mouse embryogenesis. Dev Dyn. 2008 Oct;237(10):2820-9.[PMID: 18816845].