HSF4
Description
The HSF4 (heat shock transcription factor 4) is a protein-coding gene located on chromosome 16.
HSF4 is a human gene that encodes a heat-shock transcription factor protein. Heat-shock transcription factors (HSFs) activate heat-shock response genes in response to stress, such as heat. HSF4 lacks a carboxyl-terminal hydrophobic repeat, which is found in all other vertebrate HSFs and is thought to be involved in regulating DNA binding activity. Two alternative transcripts of the gene have been identified, which encode different isoforms with distinct transcriptional activity.
HSF4 is a heat-shock transcription factor that specifically binds to heat shock promoter elements (HSE). It is required for denucleation and organelle rupture and degradation during eye lens terminal differentiation, a process that ensures lens transparency by degrading organelles in fiber cells. HSF4 may regulate denucleation of lens fiber cells by activating DNASE2B transcription. It is also potentially involved in DNA repair through the transcriptional regulation of RAD51. HSF4 can up-regulate p53/TP53 protein in eye lens fiber cells, possibly by stabilizing the protein. In the eye lens, it controls the expression of alpha-crystallin B chain/CRYAB, which might be involved in the regulation of lysosomal acidification.
HSF4 is also known as CTM, CTRCT5.
