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10 sources retrieved · Most recent: April 2026 · Index updated 14 days ago
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HSF2
heat shock transcription factor 2
Chromosome 6 · 6q22.31
NCBI Gene: 3298Ensembl: ENSG00000025156.14HGNC: HGNC:5225UniProt: Q03933
84PubMed Papers
20Diseases
0Drugs
0Pathogenic Variants
FUNCTIONAL ROLE
Transcription Factor
DATA QUALITY
✓ Experimental GO Evidence✓ Swiss-Prot Reviewed
protein bindingpositive regulation of transcription by RNA polymerase IIRNA polymerase II cis-regulatory region sequence-specific DNA bindingsequence-specific double-stranded DNA bindingatrial fibrillationbreast carcinomapreeclampsiaatrial flutter
✦AI Summary

HSF2 (heat shock transcription factor 2) is a DNA-binding transcription factor that regulates gene expression through binding to heat shock promoter elements (HSE) and activating transcription 1. Beyond its classical stress response role, HSF2 exhibits diverse physiological functions with distinct tissue-specific expression patterns. In normal human tissues, HSF2 shows unique subcellular localization, with nuclear expression limited to specific cell types like spermatogonia and urothelial umbrella cells, while displaying consistent cytoplasmic expression in smooth muscle and endothelial cells 2. Notably, HSF2 localizes specifically at cell-cell adhesion sites across various tissues including cardiac muscle, liver, and epididymis 2. During development, HSF2 plays critical roles in neurodevelopment, with high expression in fetal brain cortex where it controls genes important for multiple neurodevelopmental steps 3. The protein undergoes post-translational regulation through acetylation by CBP/EP300, which stabilizes HSF2, while HDAC1 promotes its destabilization through deacetylation and proteasomal degradation 13. HSF2 also functions as a stage-specific switch in cancer progression, transitioning from nuclear localization promoting proliferation to cytoplasmic localization during invasion 4. Alternative splicing produces functionally distinct HSF2-alpha and HSF2-beta isoforms, with HSF2-beta acting as a negative regulator during erythroid differentiation 5.

Sources cited
1
CBP/EP300 acetylates HSF2 leading to protein stabilization and its role in neurodevelopment
PMID: 36385105
2
HSF2 shows distinct tissue-specific expression patterns and localizes at cell-cell adhesion sites
PMID: 38458311
3
HSF2 is abundant in fetal brain cortex and HDAC1 destabilizes HSF2 through deacetylation
PMID: 40318841
4
HSF2 acts as a stage-specific switch between proliferation and invasion in breast cancer
PMID: 40901953
5
HSF2-beta acts as a negative regulator during erythroid differentiation
PMID: 9182556
Disease Associationsⓘ20
atrial fibrillationOpen Targets
0.40Moderate
breast carcinomaOpen Targets
0.31Weak
preeclampsiaOpen Targets
0.31Weak
atrial flutterOpen Targets
0.29Weak
open-angle glaucomaOpen Targets
0.28Weak
androgenetic alopeciaOpen Targets
0.25Weak
glaucomaOpen Targets
0.25Weak
cardiac arrhythmiaOpen Targets
0.25Weak
hypertensionOpen Targets
0.22Weak
cardioembolic strokeOpen Targets
0.20Weak
cirrhosis of liverOpen Targets
0.20Weak
chronic obstructive pulmonary diseaseOpen Targets
0.20Weak
TachycardiaOpen Targets
0.20Weak
heart diseaseOpen Targets
0.20Weak
endometrial cancerOpen Targets
0.19Weak
Pathologic fractureOpen Targets
0.19Weak
placental retentionOpen Targets
0.18Weak
shoulder fractureOpen Targets
0.18Weak
clavicle fractureOpen Targets
0.17Weak
duodenitisOpen Targets
0.17Weak
Pathogenic Variants
No pathogenic variants reported on ClinVar for this gene.
View on ClinVar ↗
Related Genes
HSF1Protein interaction90%HSF4Protein interaction81%LHCGRProtein interaction76%
Tissue Expression6 tissues
Bone Marrow
100%
Brain
73%
Heart
69%
Ovary
33%
Lung
21%
Liver
13%
Gene Interaction Network
Click a node to explore
HSF2HSF1HSF4LHCGR
PROTEIN STRUCTURE
Preparing viewer…
PDB5HDK · 1.32 Å · X-ray
View on RCSB ↗
Constraintⓘ
LOEUFⓘ
0.41Moderately Constrained
pLIⓘ
1.00Intolerant
Observed/Expected LoF0.19 [0.10–0.41]
RankingsWhere HSF2 stands among ~20K protein-coding genes
  • #5,669of 20,598
    Most Researched84
  • #2,093of 17,882
    Most Constrained (LOEUF)0.41 · top quartile
Genes detectedHSF2
Sources retrieved10 papers
Response time—
📄 Sources
10▼
1
CBP-HSF2 structural and functional interplay in Rubinstein-Taybi neurodevelopmental disorder.
PMID: 36385105
Nat Commun · 2022
1.00
2
HSP gene expression and HSF2 in mouse development.
PMID: 9118006
Cell Mol Life Sci · 1997
0.90
3
Hsf1 and Hsf2 in normal, healthy human tissues: Immunohistochemistry provokes new questions.
PMID: 38641046
Cell Stress Chaperones · 2024
0.80
4
Comprehensive analysis of human tissues reveals unique expression and localization patterns of HSF1 and HSF2.
PMID: 38458311
Cell Stress Chaperones · 2024
0.70
5
Meta-Analysis of Heat-Stressed Transcriptomes Using the Public Gene Expression Database from Human and Mouse Samples.
PMID: 37686255
Int J Mol Sci · 2023
0.60