Krueppel-like factor 5 is a member of the Kruppel-like factor subfamily of zinc finger proteins. Since the protein localizes to the nucleus and binds the epidermal growth factor response element, it is thought to be a transcription factor.
Klf5, also known as (IKLF) or (Bteb2) has been assigned purely transcriptional activation activity (Fig. 1A) but, similar to Klf4, binds p300 which acetylates the first zinc finger conferring a trans-activating function. Importantly for Klf4 & Klf5, the amino acids that are predicted by the Klevit model to interact with DNA are identical (Fig. 1B and Fig. 2) and the two compete for the same CACCC element found in a wide variety of promoters.