Hey bHLH Transcription Factors

• Published in: Current Topics in Developmental Biology Vol. 110; pp. 285 - 315
• Main Authors: Weber, David, Wiese, Cornelia, Gessler, Manfred
• Format: Book Chapter Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Science & Technology 2014
• Subjects: Angiogenesis; Animals; Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors - genetics; Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors - metabolism; Brugada syndrome; Cardiac hypertrophy; Cardiovascular System - metabolism; Cell Cycle Proteins - genetics; Cell Differentiation; COUP Transcription Factor II - genetics; COUP Transcription Factor II - metabolism; CoupTF-II; E-box; Gene Expression Regulation; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Heart development; Heart Diseases - genetics; Hey genes; Histone deacetylase; Humans; Mice, Knockout; Muscle Development; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular - injuries; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular - physiology; Neoplasms - genetics; Neoplasms - pathology; Neurogenesis; Notch signaling; Nuclear Receptor Coactivator 2 - genetics; Receptors, Notch - metabolism; Repressor Proteins - genetics; Repressor Proteins - metabolism; Stem cell maintenance; Transforming Growth Factor beta - metabolism; Ventricular septum defect; Angiogenesis; E-box; Histone deacetylase; Hey genes; Brugada syndrome; Notch signaling; Heart development; Ventricular septum defect; CoupTF-II; Cardiac hypertrophy; Neurogenesis; Stem cell maintenance
• ISBN: 9780124059436; 0124059430
• ISSN: 0070-2153; 1557-8933
• DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-405943-6.00008-7

Hey bHLH transcription factors are direct targets of canonical Notch signaling. The three mammalian Hey proteins are closely related to Hes proteins and they primarily repress target genes by either directly binding to core promoters or by inhibiting other transcriptional activators. Individual candidate gene approaches and systematic screens identified a number of Hey target genes, which often encode other transcription factors involved in various developmental processes. Here, we review data on interaction partners and target genes and conclude with a model for Hey target gene regulation. Furthermore, we discuss how expression of Hey proteins affects processes like cell fate decisions and differentiation, e.g., in cardiovascular, skeletal, and neural development or oncogenesis and how this relates to the observed developmental defects and phenotypes observed in various knockout mice.