Histone deacetylase 4, also known as HDAC4, 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...

 which in humans is encoded by the HDAC4 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

Histone

Histone

In biology, histones are highly alkaline proteins found in eukaryotic cell nuclei that package and order the DNA into structural units called nucleosomes. They are the chief protein components of chromatin, acting as spools around which DNA winds, and play a role in gene regulation...

s play a critical role in transcriptional regulation

Transcriptional regulation

Transcriptional regulation is the change in gene expression levels by altering transcription rates. -Regulation of transcription:Regulation of transcription controls when transcription occurs and how much RNA is created...

, cell cycle

Cell cycle

The cell cycle, or cell-division cycle, is the series of events that takes place in a cell leading to its division and duplication . In cells without a nucleus , the cell cycle occurs via a process termed binary fission...

 progression, and developmental events. Histone acetylation

Acetylation

Acetylation describes a reaction that introduces an acetyl functional group into a chemical compound...

/deacetylation alters chromosome

Chromosome

A chromosome is an organized structure of DNA and protein found in cells. It is a single piece of coiled DNA containing many genes, regulatory elements and other nucleotide sequences. Chromosomes also contain DNA-bound proteins, which serve to package the DNA and control its functions.Chromosomes...

 structure and affects transcription factor access to DNA. The protein encoded by this gene belongs to class II of the histone deacetylase

Histone deacetylase

Histone deacetylases are a class of enzymes that remove acetyl groups from an ε-N-acetyl lysine amino acid on a histone. This is important because DNA is wrapped around histones, and DNA expression is regulated by acetylation and de-acetylation. Its action is opposite to that of histone...

/acuc/apha family. It possesses histone deacetylase activity and represses transcription when tethered to a promoter. This protein does not bind DNA directly, but through 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...

s MEF2C

MEF2C

Myocyte-specific enhancer factor 2C also known as MADS box transcription enhancer factor 2, polypeptide C is a protein that in humans is encoded by the MEF2C gene. MEF2C is a transcription factor in the Mef2 family.-Genomics:...

 and MEF2D

MEF2D

Myocyte-specific enhancer factor 2D is a protein that in humans is encoded by the MEF2D gene.-Interactions:MEF2D has been shown to interact with YWHAQ, MAPK7, EP300, Sp1 transcription factor, Myocyte-specific enhancer factor 2A, NFATC2 and CABIN1....

. It seems to interact in a multiprotein complex with RbAp48 and HDAC3. Furthermore, HDAC4 is required for TGFbeta1-induced myofibroblastic differentiation.

Clinical significance

Studies have shown that HDAC4 regulates bone and muscle development. Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

 researchers also concluded that it promotes healthy vision: reduced levels of the protein led to the death of the rod photoreceptors and bipolar cells in the retina

Retina

The vertebrate retina is a light-sensitive tissue lining the inner surface of the eye. The optics of the eye create an image of the visual world on the retina, which serves much the same function as the film in a camera. Light striking the retina initiates a cascade of chemical and electrical...

s of mice.

Interactions

HDAC4 has been shown to interact

Protein-protein interaction

Protein–protein interactions occur when two or more proteins bind together, often to carry out their biological function. Many of the most important molecular processes in the cell such as DNA replication are carried out by large molecular machines that are built from a large number of protein...

 with MEF2C

MEF2C

Myocyte-specific enhancer factor 2C also known as MADS box transcription enhancer factor 2, polypeptide C is a protein that in humans is encoded by the MEF2C gene. MEF2C is a transcription factor in the Mef2 family.-Genomics:...

, Zinc finger and BTB domain-containing protein 16

Zinc finger and BTB domain-containing protein 16

Zinc finger and BTB domain-containing protein 16 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ZBTB16 gene.-Function:This gene is a member of the Krueppel C2H2-type zinc-finger protein family and encodes a zinc finger transcription factor that contains nine Kruppel-type zinc finger domains at the...

, BCL6

BCL6

B-cell lymphoma 6 protein is a protein that in humans is encoded by the BCL6 gene.- Function :The protein encoded by this gene is an evolutionarily conserved zinc finger transcription factor and contains an N-terminal POZ/BTB domain...

, CBX5

CBX5 (gene)

Chromobox protein homolog 5 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CBX5 gene.-Interactions:CBX5 has been shown to interact with HDAC9, Ku70, MIS12, Lamin B receptor, MBD1, TAF4, Histone deacetylase 5, TRIM28, HDAC4, CBX3, SMARCA4, DNMT3B, CHAF1A, CBX1 and SUV39H1....

, MAPK3

MAPK3

Mitogen-activated protein kinase 3 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the MAPK3 gene.-Interactions:MAPK3 has been shown to interact with PTPN7, SPIB, GTF2I, DUSP3, HDAC4, RPS6KA2, MAP2K1, DUSP6 and MAP2K2.-Further reading:...

, Testicular receptor 2

Testicular receptor 2

The testicular receptor 2 also known as NR2C1 is protein that in humans is encoded by the NR2C1 gene...

, MAPK1

MAPK1

Mitogen-activated protein kinase 1, also known as MAPK1, p42MAPK, and ERK2, is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the MAPK1 gene.- Function :The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the MAP kinase family...

, Myocyte-specific enhancer factor 2A

Myocyte-specific enhancer factor 2A

Myocyte-specific enhancer factor 2A is a protein that in humans is encoded by the MEF2A gene. MEF2A is a transcription factor in the Mef2 family. In humans it is located on chromosome 15q26...

, Nuclear receptor co-repressor 1

Nuclear receptor co-repressor 1

The nuclear receptor co-repressor 1 also known as thyroid-hormone- and retinoic-acid-receptor-associated co-repressor 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the NCOR1 gene....

, Nuclear receptor co-repressor 2

Nuclear receptor co-repressor 2

The nuclear receptor co-repressor 2 is a transcriptional coregulatory protein that contains several nuclear receptor-interacting domains. In addition, NCOR2 appears to recruit histone deacetylases to DNA promoter regions. Hence NCOR2 assists nuclear receptors in the down regulation of target...

, YWHAB

YWHAB

14-3-3 protein beta/alpha is a protein that in humans is encoded by the YWHAB gene.-Interactions:YWHAB has been shown to interact with CDC25A, CDC25B, BRAF, C-Raf, RPS6KA1, EPB41L3, CD29, Wee1-like protein kinase, PTPN3, Protein kinase Mζ, MAPK7, TESK1, TNFAIP3, Cbl gene, HDAC4 and KCNK3.-Further...

, HDAC3

HDAC3

Histone deacetylase 3 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the HDAC3 gene.-Interactions:HDAC3 has been shown to interact with HDAC9, HDAC7A, Retinoblastoma protein, RBBP4, Testicular receptor 2, MAP3K7IP2, Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta, GTF2I, Histone deacetylase 5, RELA,...

, GATA1

GATA1

Erythroid transcription factor also known as GATA-binding factor 1 or GATA-1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the GATA1 gene....

,BTG2

BTG2

Protein BTG2 also known as BTG family member 2 or NGF-inducible anti-proliferative protein PC3 or NGF-inducible protein TIS21, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the BTG2 gene and in other mammals by the homologous Btg2 gene...

, and YWHAE

YWHAE

14-3-3 protein epsilon is a protein that in humans is encoded by the YWHAE gene.-Interactions:YWHAE has been shown to interact with CDC25B, Insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor, NGFRAP1, TGF beta 1, HERG, C-Raf, NDEL1, HDAC4, IRS1 and MAP3K3....

.

Further reading