This family consists of zinc finger homeobox proteins, including vertebrate ZFHX2, ZFHX3 (also known as ATBF1), and ZFHX4, as well as invertebrate ortologues such as ZFH2. These proteins function as nuclear transcriptional regulators that can act as activators or repressors. They are involved in diverse developmental and physiological processes. For example, ZFHX3 regulates myoblast differentiation, circadian locomotor rhythms, and interacts with SMAD2/3 to repress transcription in response to TGF-�� signalling [, , ]. ZFHX2 is critical for the regulation of pain perception and the processing of noxious stimuli []. ZFHX4 is implicated in neural and muscle differentiation []. Members of this family typically contain multiple C2H2-type zinc fingers and homeodomains.
