This protein is the human homolog of mastermind, a Drosophila protein that plays a role in the Notch signaling pathway involved in cell-fate determination. There is in vitro evidence that the human homolog forms a complex with the intracellular portion of human Notch receptors and can increase expression of a Notch-induced gene. This evidence supports its proposed function as a transcriptional co-activator in the Notch signaling pathway.[3]
Details on the activity of the N-terminal domain of Mastermind-like protein 1
may be found under MamL-1.
Alves-Guerra MC, Ronchini C, Capobianco AJ (2007). "Mastermind-like 1 Is a specific coactivator of beta-catenin transcription activation and is essential for colon carcinoma cell survival". Cancer Res. 67 (18): 8690–8. doi:10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-07-1720. PMID17875709.
Zhao Y, Katzman RB, Delmolino LM, Bhat I, Zhang Y, Gurumurthy CB, Germaniuk-Kurowska A, Reddi HV, Solomon A, Zeng MS, Kung A, Ma H, Gao Q, Dimri G, Stanculescu A, Miele L, Wu L, Griffin JD, Wazer DE, Band H, Band V (2007). "The notch regulator MAML1 interacts with p53 and functions as a coactivator". J. Biol. Chem. 282 (16): 11969–81. doi:10.1074/jbc.M608974200. PMID17317671.
Nam Y, Sliz P, Song L, Aster JC, Blacklow SC (2006). "Structural basis for cooperativity in recruitment of MAML coactivators to Notch transcription complexes". Cell. 124 (5): 973–83. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2005.12.037. PMID16530044.
Fryer CJ, White JB, Jones KA (2005). "Mastermind recruits CycC:CDK8 to phosphorylate the Notch ICD and coordinate activation with turnover". Mol. Cell. 16 (4): 509–20. doi:10.1016/j.molcel.2004.10.014. PMID15546612.
Nam Y, Weng AP, Aster JC, Blacklow SC (2003). "Structural requirements for assembly of the CSL.intracellular Notch1.Mastermind-like 1 transcriptional activation complex". J. Biol. Chem. 278 (23): 21232–9. doi:10.1074/jbc.M301567200. PMID12644465.
Lin SE, Oyama T, Nagase T, Harigaya K, Kitagawa M (2003). "Identification of new human mastermind proteins defines a family that consists of positive regulators for notch signaling". J. Biol. Chem. 277 (52): 50612–20. doi:10.1074/jbc.M209529200. PMID12386158.