The nucleotide sequence of the human transcription factor HTF4a cDNA

A partial cDNA has previously been isolated that encodes HTF4, a new member of the basic helix-loop-helix family of DNA binding proteins. We have reconstructed a full cDNA, designated HTF4a cDNA, which spans the entire HTF4 coding region. The 5' end of the reconstructed cDNA includes an open reading frame encoding a 117-residue polypeptide. Three closely spaced ATG codons in the major open reading frame may potentially serve as sites of initiation for HTF4a synthesis, to yield proteins that contain 682, 675, and 657 amino acid residues, respectively. Pairwise dot matrix analysis indicates that there are at least three distinct human genes which encode proteins related to the Drosophila daughterless.