Description
Product Characteristics: DUX4, or double homeobox4, is a human protein that is a transcriptional activator of paired-like homeodomain transcription factor 1 (1). Clinically it is a facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy candidate gene that appears to have a toxic gain of function (2-4). In FSHD individuals, the expression of the full-length DUX4 transcript is not completely suppressed in skeletal muscle and possibly other differentiated tissues (5).
Target Information: This gene is located within a D4Z4 repeat array in the subtelomeric region of chromosome 4q. The D4Z4 repeat is polymorphic in length, a similar D4Z4 repeat array has been identified on chromosome 10. Each D4Z4 repeat unit has an open reading frame (named DUX4) that contains two homeoboxes, the repeat-array and ORF is conserved in other mammals. There was no evidence for transcription from standard cDNA libraries however RTPCR and in-vitro expression experiments indicate that the ORF is transcribed and the encoded protein has been reported to function as a transcriptional activator of paired-like homeodomain transcription factor 1 (PITX1, GeneID 5307). Contraction of the microsatellite repeat causes autosomal dominant facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD)