Regulation of inducible gene expression by the transcription factor NF-κB

The transcription factor NF-kappa B plays a critical role in regulating inducible gene expression in immune responses. The activation of NF-kappa B is regulated at multiple levels, probably reflecting a need to maintain a tight control of its activity. We have recently discovered that direct phosphorylation of NF-kappa B itself is essential for its transcriptional activity and that phosphorylation acts as a switch to determine association of nuclear NF-kappa B with histone acetylases vs deacetylases.