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Brief Communication

Nature Cell Biology 7, 921–923 (1 September 2005) | doi:10.1038/ncb1296

Distinct roles of I|[kappa]|B proteins in regulating constitutive NF-|[kappa]|B activity

Vinay Tergaonkar , Ricardo G Correa , Masahito Ikawa & Inder M Verma

The inhibitor of NF-κB (IκB) family of proteins is believed to regulate NF-κB activity by cytoplasmic sequestration. We show that in cells depleted of IκBα, IκBβ and IκB|[epsi]| proteins, a small fraction of p65 binds DNA and leads to constitutive activation of NF-κB target genes, even without stimulation, whereas most of the p65 remains cytoplasmic.