Myocyte Specific Enhancer Factor 2D (MEF2D)

Breitbart et al. (1993) obtained MEF2D cDNAs from an adult cardiac ventricle expression library screened at low stringency with a human MEF2B probe. One of the cDNAs encoded a 521-amino acid protein with highly conserved MADS and MEF2 domains. MEF2D occurs as several alternatively spliced transcripts, one of which resembles the Xenopus SRF-related factor SL-1. Unlike the other MEF2 family members, MEF2D is present in undifferentiated myoblasts and may participate in the earliest stages of commitment. Ikeshima et al. (1995) demonstrated strong expression of MEF2D in the cerebellum and cerebrum of developing mouse brains and also in central nervous system neurons of adult mice, suggesting that it may be involved in the differentiation of neurogenic as well as myogenic cells.