Transcriptional repressor protein YY1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the YY1 gene.

YY1 is a ubiquitously distributed transcription factor belonging to the GLI-Kruppel class of zinc finger proteins. The protein is involved in repressing and activating a diverse number of promoters. YY1 may direct histone deacetylases and histone acetyltransferases to a promoter in order to activate or repress the promoter, thus implicating histone modification in the function of YY1. [provided by RefSeq]. Publication Note: This RefSeq record includes a subset of the publications that are available for this gene. Please see the Gene record to access additional publications.
Function: Multifunctional transcription factor that exhibits positive and negative control on a large number of cellular and viral genes by binding to sites overlapping the transcription start site. May play an important role in development and differentiation. The function of YY1 as an activator or a repressor is specified by the presence of other proteins. For example it acts as a repressor in absence of adenovirus E1A protein but as an activator in its presence.