Histone H4

H4 histone, family 3
Identifiers
Symbol	H4F3
Entrez	3023
HUGO	4780
UniProt	P62805
Other data
Locus	Chr. 3 q13.13

Histone H4 H4 is one of the five main histone proteins involved in the structure of chromatin in eukaryotic cells. Featuring a main globular domain and a long N-terminal tail, H4 is involved with the structure of the nucleosome of the 'beads on a string' organization. Histone proteins are highly post-translationally modified. Covalently bonded modifications include acetylation and methylation of the N-terminal tails. These modifications may alter expression of genes located on DNA associated with its parent histone octamer. Histone H4 is an important protein in the structure and function of chromatin, where its sequence variants and variable modification states are thought to play a role in the dynamic and long term regulation of genes.

Histone H4 is encoded in multiple genes at different loci including: HIST1H4A, HIST1H4B, HIST1H4C, HIST1H4D, HIST1H4E, HIST1H4F, HIST1H4H, HIST1H4I, HIST1H4J, HIST1H4K, HIST1H4L, HIST2H4A, HIST2H4B, HIST4H4, Hip

Histone proteins are among the most highly conserved eukaryotic proteins. For example, the amino acid sequence of histone H4 from a pea and cow differ at only 2 out of the 102 positions. This evolutionary conservation suggests that the functions of histone proteins involve nearly all of their amino acids so that any change is deleterious to the cell. Most changes in histone sequences are lethal; the few that are not lethal cause changes in the pattern of gene expression as well as other abnormalities.

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