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Transcription Factor 4

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Signaling Molecules

  • 65 Accesses

Synonyms

bHLHb19; E2-2; FECD3; ITF2; SEF2-1; TCF4

Historical Background

Transcription factor 4 (TCF4) is a member of the E protein family of transcription factors that play a critical role in development. As a family, E proteins were named because they bind the Ephrussi-box (E-box) sequence (5′-CANNTG-3′) and were first investigated as regulators in B-cell development, but TCF4 specifically has been more closely tied to disorders of the central nervous system. Despite its medical relevance, mutations in the Tcf4gene have been linked to intellectual disability, schizophrenia, obesity, and corneal dystrophy; little was known about the biochemical and neurological roles of TCF4 until quite recently. It is now known that TCF4 responds to calcium signaling, alters epigenetic modifications necessary for learning and memory, and regulates the transcription of genes that modulate plasticity in hippocampal and cortical neurons. Because TCF4 was initially investigated across multiple fields...

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Acknowledgments

The authors' work is supported by the Pitt-Hopkins Research Foundation and an Institutional Development Award (IDeA) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under grant number P20GM0103423.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Bates College, Lewiston, ME, USA

    Alex R. Gogliettino & Andrew J. Kennedy

Authors
  1. Alex R. Gogliettino
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  2. Andrew J. Kennedy
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Correspondence to Andrew J. Kennedy .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Science and Technology, Ajou University, Suwon, Korea

    Sangdun Choi

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Gogliettino, A.R., Kennedy, A.J. (2018). Transcription Factor 4. In: Choi, S. (eds) Encyclopedia of Signaling Molecules. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67199-4_101934

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