CCAAT/enhancer binding protein (C/EBP), alpha is a bZIP transcription factor which can bind as a homodimer to certain promoters and enhancers. It can also form heterodimers with the related proteins CEBP-beta and CEBP-gamma. The encoded protein has been shown to bind to the promoter and modulate the expression of the gene encoding leptin, a protein that plays an important role in body weight homeostasis. Also, the encoded protein can interact with CDK2 and CDK4, thereby inhibiting these kinases and causing growth arrest in cultured cells. Sequence Note: This RefSeq record was created from transcript and genomic sequence data to make the sequence consistent with the reference genome assembly. The genomic coordinates used for the transcript record were based on transcript alignments.