This gene was initially identified as a transcriptional repressor that represses neuronal genes in non-neuronal tissues. However, depending on the cellular context, this gene can act as either an oncogene or a tumor suppressor. The encoded protein is a member of the Kruppel-type zinc finger transcription factor family. It represses transcription by binding a DNA sequence element called the neuron-restrictive silencer element. The protein is also found in undifferentiated neuronal progenitor cells and it is thought that this repressor may act as a master negative regulator of neurogenesis. Alternatively spliced transcript variants have been described. [provided by RefSeq, May 2018]
Transcription factors with Perturb-seq knockdown data for REST. The Binding column indicates whether any binding evidence exists for this TF–gene pair (ChIP-seq or motif footprint peaks). The Mean coef is the average Perturb-seq regression coefficient across active gRNAs (positive = REST upregulated upon KD; negative = downregulated). The Outlier column indicates whether this gene is in the top or bottom 5% of all TF knockdown effects.
| TF | Mean coef | Binding | Outlier | TF→Gene link |
|---|
Open chromatin peaks (ATAC-seq) in the genomic neighbourhood of REST, linked by TSS proximity or chromatin conformation (Multiome / HiCAR). Each element overlaps at least one TF ChIP-seq binding site — the TFs column shows how many distinct TFs bind that element.
| Accessibility | Element | Dist. to TSS | Link type | TFs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| chr4:56,655,262–56,656,591 | 252.2 kb | Distal (>10kb) Multiome | 237 | |
| chr4:56,787,104–56,787,870 | 120.4 kb | Distal (>10kb) Multiome | 101 | |
| chr4:56,821,230–56,822,148 | 86.2 kb | Distal (>10kb) Multiome | 302 | |
| chr4:56,844,583–56,845,457 | 62.9 kb | Distal (>10kb) Multiome HiCAR | 178 | |
| chr4:56,906,574–56,909,582 | 29 bp | At TSS Multiome | 887 | |
| chr4:56,976,336–56,979,242 | 69.7 kb | Distal (>10kb) Multiome | 954 | |
| chr4:57,037,888–57,038,581 | 130.4 kb | Distal (>10kb) Multiome | 261 | |
| chr4:57,109,714–57,111,367 | 202.5 kb | Distal (>10kb) Multiome | 438 | |
| chr4:57,163,440–57,164,715 | 256.0 kb | Distal (>10kb) Multiome | 642 | |
| chr4:57,190,721–57,192,448 | 283.9 kb | Distal (>10kb) Multiome | 348 |
Genomic view of the REST locus showing ATAC-seq accessibility and RNA-seq expression across the ESC → DE time course, together with TF binding peaks and element-to-TSS loop connections.