Deleted In Azoospermia 4 (DAZ4)

DAZ4 is the only DAZ gene whose expression has not been clearly demonstrated. Ref.1 could not exclude the possibility that the transcript they isolated derives from DAZ1.The DAZ proteins (DAZ, DAZ2, DAZ4 and DAZ4) are all encoded by a strongly repeated region of the Y chromosome, in two clusters each comprising an inverted pair of DAZ genes. They are very similar, which gives their indidual characterization difficult. Thus, most experiments do not discriminate between the different members. One can therefore suppose that reported interactions with a DAZ protein involve all the 4 proteins.RNA-binding protein that plays an essential role in spermatogenesis. May act by binding to the 3"""-UTR of mRNAs and regulating their translation.