GATA3 (GATA binding protein 3) is an enhancer-binding protein containing a zinc finger domain. The genes for all 4 subunits of the T-cell antigen receptor (alpha, beta, gamma and delta) are controlled by distinct enhancers and their enhancer-binding proteins. A common TCR regulatory element was identified by demonstrating binding of the enhancer-binding protein GATA3 to the enhancer elements of all 4 TCR genes. GATA3 mRNA was demonstrated by Northern blot analysis in T cells but not in B cells,Mouse,acrophages, or HeLa cell lines. GATA3 is abundantly e, Xenopus/Amphibian,pressed in the T-lymphocyte lineage and is thought to participate in T-cell receptor gene activation through binding to enhancers. The human gene comprises 6 e, Xenopus/Amphibian,ons distributed over 17 kb of DNA. Its 2 zinc fingers are encoded by 2 separate e, Xenopus/Amphibian,ons highly conserved with those of GATA1, but no other structural homologies between the 2 genes could be found.