Activator protein 1 (AP-1) is a transcription factor that regulates gene expression in response to a variety of stimuli, including cytokines, growth factors, stress, and bacterial and viral infections. AP-1 controls a number of cellular processes including differentiation, proliferation, and apoptosis. The structure of AP-1 is a heterodimer composed of proteins belonging to the c-Fos, c-Jun, ATF and JDP families. History AP-1 was first discovered as a TPA-activated transcription factor that bound to a cis-regulatory element of the human metallothionein IIa (hMTIIa) promoter and SV40. The AP-1 binding site was identified as the 12-O-Tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) response element (TRE) with the consensus sequence 5’-TGA G/C TCA-3’. The AP-1 subunit Jun was identified as a novel oncoprotein of avian sarcoma virus, and Fos-associated p39 protein was identified as the transcript of the cellular Jun gene. Fos was first isolated as the cellular homologue of two viral v-fos oncogenes, both of which induce osteosarcoma in mice and rats. Since its discovery, AP-1 has been found to be associated with numerous regulatory and physiological processes, and new relationships are still investigated. Structure AP-1 transcription factor is assembled through the dimerization of a characteristic bZIP domain (basic region leucine zipper) in the Fos and Jun subunits. A typical bZIP domain consists of a “leucine zipper” region, and a “basic region”. The leucine zipper is responsible for dimerization of the Jun and Fos protein subunits. This structural motif twists two alpha helical protein domains into a “coiled coil,” characterized by a periodicity of 3.5 residues per turn and repetitive leucines appearing at every seventh position of the polypeptide chain. Due to the amino acid sequence and the periodicity of the helices, the leucine side chains are arranged along one face of the α helix and form a hydrophobic surface that modulates dimerization. Hydrophobic residues additional to leucine also form the characteristic 3-4 repeat of α helices involved in “coiled-coil” interactions, and help contribute to the hydrophobic packing that drives dimerization. Together, this hydrophobic surface holds the two subunits together. The basic region of the bZIP domain is just upstream to the leucine zipper, and contains positively charged residues. This region interacts with DNA target sites. Apart from the “leucine zipper” and the “basic region” which are important for dimerization and DNA-binding, the c-jun protein contains three short regions, which consist of clusters of negatively charged amino acids in its N-terminal half that are important for transcriptional