The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the E2F family of transcription factors. The E2F family plays a crucial role in the control of cell cycle and action of tumor suppressor proteins and is also a target of the transforming proteins of small DNA tumor viruses. The E2F proteins contain several evolutionally conserved domains found in most members of the family. These domains include a DNA binding domain, a dimerization domain which determines interaction with the differentiation regulated transcription factor proteins (DP), a transactivation domain enriched in acidic amino acids, and a tumor suppressor protein association domain which is embedded within the transactivation domain. This protein and another 2 members, E2F1 and E2F3, have an additional cyclin binding domain. This protein binds specifically to retinoblastoma protein pRB in a cell-cycle dependent manner, and it exhibits overall 46% amino acid identity to E2F1. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]
Forensic Context
A study in humans identified the E2F2 as a potential pathogenic biomarker for sepsis, with its expression significantly increased in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of sepsis patients compared to healthy controls via RT-qPCR validation [Shi et al. DOI:10.3389/fimmu.2025.1640425]. Another human study analyzing severe burn injury recovery identified the E2F2 as a top biomarker with a sustained decreasing expression profile from the healthy state through the late recovery phase [Xu et al. DOI:10.1159/000493451].