FOXP4

FOXP4
Identifiers
Aliases	FOXP4, hFKHLA, forkhead box P4
External IDs	OMIM: 608924; MGI: 1921373; HomoloGene: 12536; GeneCards: FOXP4; OMA:FOXP4 - orthologs
Gene location (Human)
Chr.	Chromosome 6 (human)
End	41,602,384 bp
Gene location (Mouse)
Chr.	Chromosome 17 (mouse)
End	48,235,570 bp
RNA expression pattern
	Top expressed in
	pylorus; ; body of stomach; ; cardia; ; cardiac muscle tissue of right atrium; ; ganglionic eminence; ; fundus; ; popliteal artery; ; tibial arteries; ; right coronary artery; ; myocardium of left ventricle;
	Top expressed in
	sphenoid bone; ; genital tubercle; ; lesser wing of sphenoid bone; ; basisphenoid; ; ganglionic eminence; ; yolk sac; ; ventricular zone; ; urinary bladder; ; primary visual cortex; ; cerebellar cortex;
	More reference expression data
	n/a
Gene ontology
Molecular function	DNA-binding transcription factor activity; sequence-specific DNA binding; DNA binding; protein binding; metal ion binding; DNA-binding transcription factor activity, RNA polymerase II-specific;
Cellular component	nucleus;
Biological process	regulation of transcription, DNA-templated; transcription, DNA-templated; regulation of transcription by RNA polymerase II; anatomical structure morphogenesis; cell differentiation;
	Sources:Amigo / QuickGO
Orthologs
	116113
	74123
	ENSG00000137166
	ENSMUSG00000023991
	Q8IVH2
	Q9DBY0
NM_001012426; NM_001012427; NM_138457; NM_001405824; NM_001405825;
	NM_001405826
	NM_001110824; NM_001110825; NM_028767
	NP_001012426; NP_001012427; NP_612466
	NP_001104294; NP_001104295; NP_083043; NP_001390898; NP_001390899
	Wikidata
View/Edit Human	View/Edit Mouse

Forkhead box protein P4 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the FOXP4 gene.⁵

This gene belongs to subfamily P of the forkhead box (FOX) transcription factor family. Forkhead box transcription factors play important roles in the regulation of tissue- and cell type-specific gene transcription during both development and adulthood. Many members of the forkhead box gene family, including members of subfamily P, have roles in mammalian oncogenesis. This gene may play a role in the development of tumors of the kidney and larynx. Alternative splicing of this gene produces multiple transcript variants, some encoding different isoforms.⁵ It also is a major factor in developing Long COVID as such, increasing the chances of developing the little-understood syndrome 1.6 fold, a finding which has major implications for COVID-19 pandemic research.⁶⁷

References

GRCh38: Ensembl release 89: ENSG00000137166 – Ensembl, May 2017
GRCm38: Ensembl release 89: ENSMUSG00000023991 – Ensembl, May 2017
"Human PubMed Reference:". National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine.
"Mouse PubMed Reference:". National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine.
"Entrez Gene: FOXP4 forkhead box P4".
Ledford H (July 2023). "Gene linked to long COVID found in analysis of thousands of patients". Nature. 619 (7970): 445. Bibcode:2023Natur.619..445L. doi:10.1038/d41586-023-02269-2. PMID 37433943. S2CID 259831412.
Lammi V, Nakanishi T, Jones SE, Andrews SJ, Karjalainen J, Cortés B, et al. (June 2025). "Genome-wide association study of long COVID". Nature Genetics. 57 (6): 1402–1417. doi:10.1038/s41588-025-02100-w. PMC 12165857. PMID 40399555.

Further reading

Katoh M, Katoh M (2005). "Human FOX gene family (Review)". International Journal of Oncology. 25 (5): 1495–1500. doi:10.3892/ijo.25.5.1495. PMID 15492844.
Lu MM, Li S, Yang H, Morrisey EE (2003). "Foxp4: a novel member of the Foxp subfamily of winged-helix genes co-expressed with Foxp1 and Foxp2 in pulmonary and gut tissues". Gene Expression Patterns. 2 (3–4): 223–228. doi:10.1016/S1567-133X(02)00058-3. PMID 12617805. (Retracted, see doi:10.1016/S0925-4773(03)00085-6)
Teufel A, Wong EA, Mukhopadhyay M, Malik N, Westphal H (June 2003). "FoxP4, a novel forkhead transcription factor". Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Gene Structure and Expression. 1627 (2–3): 147–152. doi:10.1016/S0167-4781(03)00074-5. PMID 12818433.
Lu MM, Li S, Yang H, Morrisey EE (2002). "Foxp4: a novel member of the Foxp subfamily of winged-helix genes co-expressed with Foxp1 and Foxp2 in pulmonary and gut tissues". Mechanisms of Development. 119 (Suppl 1): S197–202. doi:10.1016/S0925-4773(03)00116-3. PMID 14516685. S2CID 935988.
Li S, Weidenfeld J, Morrisey EE (2004). "Transcriptional and DNA Binding Activity of the Foxp1/2/4 Family Is Modulated by Heterotypic and Homotypic Protein Interactions". Molecular and Cellular Biology. 24 (2): 809–822. doi:10.1128/MCB.24.2.809-822.2004. PMC 343786. PMID 14701752.
Hannenhalli S, Putt ME, Gilmore JM, Wang J, Parmacek MS, Epstein JA, et al. (September 2006). "Transcriptional genomics associates FOX transcription factors with human heart failure". Circulation. 114 (12): 1269–1276. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.106.632430. PMID 16952980.

[refGRCh38Ensembl-1] GRCh38: Ensembl release 89: ENSG00000137166 – Ensembl, May 2017

[refGRCm38Ensembl-2] GRCm38: Ensembl release 89: ENSMUSG00000023991 – Ensembl, May 2017

[3] "Human PubMed Reference:". National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine.

[4] "Mouse PubMed Reference:". National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine.

[entrez-5] "Entrez Gene: FOXP4 forkhead box P4".

[6] Ledford H (July 2023). "Gene linked to long COVID found in analysis of thousands of patients". Nature. 619 (7970): 445. Bibcode:2023Natur.619..445L. doi:10.1038/d41586-023-02269-2. PMID 37433943. S2CID 259831412.

[7] Lammi V, Nakanishi T, Jones SE, Andrews SJ, Karjalainen J, Cortés B, et al. (June 2025). "Genome-wide association study of long COVID". Nature Genetics. 57 (6): 1402–1417. doi:10.1038/s41588-025-02100-w. PMC 12165857. PMID 40399555.

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