Transcription factor 4, also known as immunoglobulin transcription factor 2 and TCF4, is a protein

Protein

Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

 acting as a transcription factor

Transcription factor

In molecular biology and genetics, a transcription factor is a protein that binds to specific DNA sequences, thereby controlling the flow of genetic information from DNA to mRNA...

. In humans this protein is encoded by the TCF4 gene

Gene

A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...

.

Function

This gene encodes transcription factor 4, a basic helix-turn-helix

Helix-turn-helix

In proteins, the helix-turn-helix is a major structural motif capable of binding DNA. It is composed of two α helices joined by a short strand of amino acids and is found in many proteins that regulate gene expression...

transcription factor. The encoded protein recognizes an Ephrussi-box ('E-box') binding site ('CANNTG') - a motif first identified in immunoglobulin enhancers. This gene is expressed predominantly in pre-B-cells, although it is found in other tissues as well. Multiple alternatively spliced transcript variants that encode different proteins have been described.

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