Neuronal PAS domain protein 4

NPAS4
Identifiers
Aliases	NPAS4, Le-PAS, NXF, PASD10, bHLHe79, neuronal PAS domain protein 4
External IDs	OMIM: 608554; MGI: 2664186; HomoloGene: 15333; GeneCards: NPAS4; OMA:NPAS4 - orthologs
Gene location (Human)
Chr.	Chromosome 11 (human)
End	66,426,707 bp
Gene location (Mouse)
Chr.	Chromosome 19 (mouse)
End	5,040,344 bp
RNA expression pattern
	Top expressed in
	pituitary gland; ; anterior pituitary; ; gonad; ; left uterine tube; ; body of uterus; ; muscle layer of sigmoid colon; ; gastric mucosa; ; smooth muscle tissue; ; popliteal artery; ; tibial arteries;
	Top expressed in
	islet of Langerhans; ; female urethra; ; superior frontal gyrus; ; primary visual cortex; ; prefrontal cortex; ; nucleus accumbens; ; olfactory bulb; ; dentate gyrus of hippocampal formation granule cell; ; neural layer of retina; ; cerebellar cortex;
	More reference expression data
	n/a
Gene ontology
Molecular function	DNA binding; DNA-binding transcription activator activity, RNA polymerase II-specific; protein dimerization activity; RNA polymerase II cis-regulatory region sequence-specific DNA binding; protein binding; protein heterodimerization activity; DNA-binding transcription factor activity, RNA polymerase II-specific;
Cellular component	postsynapse; transcription regulator complex; nucleus;
Biological process	positive regulation of transcription, DNA-templated; regulation of transcription, DNA-templated; cellular response to corticosterone stimulus; positive regulation of transcription by RNA polymerase II; transcription, DNA-templated; transcription by RNA polymerase II; nervous system development; learning; short-term memory; long-term memory; cell differentiation; regulation of synaptic transmission, GABAergic; social behavior; regulation of synaptic plasticity; excitatory postsynaptic potential; inhibitory postsynaptic potential; inhibitory synapse assembly; regulation of transcription by RNA polymerase II;
	Sources:Amigo / QuickGO
Orthologs
	266743
	225872
	ENSG00000174576
	ENSMUSG00000045903
	Q8IUM7
	Q8BGD7
	NM_178864; NM_001318804
	NM_153553
	NP_001305733; NP_849195
	NP_705781
	Wikidata
View/Edit Human	View/Edit Mouse

Neuronal PAS domain protein 4 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the NPAS4 gene.^[5] The NPAS4 gene is a neuronal activity-dependent immediate early gene that has been identified as a transcription factor. The protein regulates the transcription of genes that control inhibitory synapse development, synaptic plasticity and most recently reported also behavior.^[6]

Function

NPAS4 is a member of the basic helix-loop-helix-PER-ARNT-SIM (bHLH-PAS) class of transcriptional regulators, which are involved in a wide range of physiologic and developmental events (Ooe et al., 2004 [PubMed 14701734]).[supplied by OMIM, Mar 2008].

NPAS4 has been shown by Dr. Brenda Bloodgood to play critical roles in regulating the plasticity of inhibitory neurons. She found that NPAS4 helps to regulate plasticity by orchestrating a redistribution of inhibitory synapses, wherein they are lost from proximal apical dendrites of CA1 pyramidal neurons and increased on the somata.^[7]