basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) domain found in T-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia protein 1 (TAL-1) and similar proteins
TAL-1, also termed Class A basic helix-loop-helix protein 17 (bHLHa17), or stem cell protein (SCL), or T-cell leukemia/lymphoma protein 5, is a hematopoietic-specific bHLH transcription factor that functions in embryonic and adult hematopoiesis in vertebrates. It is also required for embryonic vascular remodeling. It acts as a regulator of erythroid differentiation and binds to regulatory regions of a large cohort of erythroid genes as part of a complex with GATA-1, LMO2 and Ldb1. TAL-1 has been implicated in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. In common with other tissue-specific bHLH proteins, Tal heterodimerizes with ubiquitously-expressed members of the E2A family and form a DNA-binding complex with an E-box (CANNTG) to regulate transcription at its recognition site.