Selected-GenAtlas references SOURCE GeneCards NCBI Gene Swiss-Prot Ensembl
HGNC UniGene Nucleotide OMIM UCSC
Home Page
FLASH GENE
Symbol NPAS4 contributors: shn/mct - updated : 26-06-2015
HGNC name neuronal PAS domain protein 4
HGNC id 18983
EXPRESSION
Type restricted
   expressed in (based on citations)
organ(s)
SystemOrgan level 1Organ level 2Organ level 3Organ level 4LevelPubmedSpeciesStageRna symbol
Digestiveliver   lowly
Endocrinepancreas     Homo sapiens
Nervousbrainlimbic systemhippocampus highly Homo sapiens
 braindiencephalonthalamus highly
 brainforebraincerebral cortex predominantly
 brainhindbraincerebellum lowly
 brainbasal nucleistriatum specific Homo sapiens
Reproductivefemale systemuterus  highly
Urinarykidney   lowly
tissue
SystemTissueTissue level 1Tissue level 2LevelPubmedSpeciesStageRna symbol
Muscularstriatumskeletal lowly
Nervousperipherous   
cells
SystemCellPubmedSpeciesStageRna symbol
Endocrineislet cell (alpha,beta...) Homo sapiens
Nervousneuron
cell lineage
cell lines
fluid/secretion
at STAGE
PROTEIN
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
STRUCTURE
motifs/domains
  • an activation domain as a transcription activator
  • a PAS domain
  • HOMOLOGY
    interspecies ortholog to Npas4, Mus musculus
    ortholog to Nxf, Rattus norvegicus
    ortholog to NPAS4, Pan troglodytes
    Homologene
    FAMILY
  • member of the basic helix-loop-helix-PER-ARNT-SIM (bHLH-PAS) class of transcriptional regulators
  • CATEGORY transcription factor
    SUBCELLULAR LOCALIZATION     intracellular
    intracellular,nucleus
    basic FUNCTION
  • playing a positive regulatory role in dendritic-cytoskeleton modulator drebrin gene expression
  • Npas4 is critical for activity-dependent regulation of GABAergic synapse development
  • Npas4 plays a role in the development of inhibitory synapses by regulating the expression of activity-dependent genes
  • Npas4 plays an important role in regulating the number of
  • functional inhibitory synapses received by an excitatory neuron
  • Npas4 functions as a transcriptional repressor as well as an activator, and/or that Npas4 indirectly affects gene expression by altering neuronal excitation
  • master regulator of activity-regulated gene programs and is central to memory formation
  • may play a major role in the regulation of cognitive and social functions in the brain with possible implications for developmental disorders such as schizophrenia and autism
  • brain-specific basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor, regulating the development of the GABAergic inhibitory synapses and transcription program for contextual memory formation in the hippocampus
  • may play an important role in the structural and functional plasticity of neurons
  • activity-dependent transcription factor, necessary for the changes in the input synapses of new neurons in the adult dentate gyrus, but not involved in changes to their axonal synapses
  • key activity-dependent regulator that improves beta-cell efficiency in the face of stress
  • CELLULAR PROCESS nucleotide, transcription, regulation
    PHYSIOLOGICAL PROCESS nervous system
    PATHWAY
    metabolism
    signaling signal transduction
    a component
  • Npas4 could heterodimerize with Arnt-type bHLH-PAS subfamily members ould heterodimerize; ARNT, ARNT2 and BMAL1
  • INTERACTION
    DNA BDNF promoters I and IV
    RNA
    small molecule
    protein
  • DBN1
  • NPAS4 could heterodimerize with Arnt-type bHLH-PAS subfamily members ould heterodimerize; ARNT, ARNT2 and BMAL1
  • MAGED1 binds and positively regulates the transcriptional activity of family members SIM1, SIM2, NPAS4 and ARNT2, but does not interact with AHR, HIF1A and ARNT
  • cell & other
    REGULATION
    activated by GABAA-receptor antagonist bicuculline
    induced by classical endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stressors
    repressed by stress via the binding of agonist-bound glucocorticoid receptor to its promoter
    Other regulated in response to cerebral ischemia
    ASSOCIATED DISORDERS
    corresponding disease(s)
    Other morbid association(s)
    TypeGene ModificationChromosome rearrangementProtein expressionProtein Function
    constitutional     --over  
    highly in ischemic tissues following both focal and global cerebral ischemic insults
    Susceptibility
    Variant & Polymorphism
    Candidate gene
    Marker
    Therapy target
    SystemTypeDisorderPubmed
    diabetetype 2 
    could be a novel therapeutic target in type 2 diabetes that could both reduce ER stress and cell death and maintain basal cell function
    ANIMAL & CELL MODELS
    Npas4 knockout mice appear anxious and hyperactive, are prone to seizures and have a shortened lifespan compared with their wild-type littermates, phenotypically resembling other knockout mice lacking genes that control the formation
    or function of inhibitory circuits (Lin et al, 2008)