Inhibitory Subunit Of NF Kappa B Alpha (IkBa)

Ikappa;Balpha; (nuclear factor of kappa light polypeptide gene enhancer in B-cells inhibitor, alpha) is one member of a family of cellular proteins that function to inhibit the NF-kappa;B transcription factor. Ikappa;Balpha; inhibits NF-kappa;B by masking the nuclear localization signals (NLS) of NF-kappa;B proteins and keeping them sequestered in an inactive state in the cytoplasm. In addition, Ikappa;Balpha; blocks the ability of NF-kappa;B transcription factors to bind to DNA, which is required for NF-kappa;B's proper functioning. The gene encoding the Ikappa;Balpha; protein is mutated in some Hodgkin's lymphoma cells; such mutations inactivate the Ikappa;Balpha; protein, thus causing NF-kappa;B to be chronically active in the lymphoma tumor cells and this activity contributes to the malignant state of these tumor cells.