Histone H1.4

Histone H1.4 is a linker histone that binds to DNA between nucleosomes and is essential for chromatin fiber formation and higher-order chromatin condensation (UniProt: P10412). The protein regulates gene transcription through chromatin remodeling, nucleosome spacing, and DNA methylation, and promotes H3K27me3 mark formation by the PRC2 complex.

H1.4 is widely expressed across tissues as a core component of chromatin architecture. UniProt disease annotations associate H1.4 with Rahman syndrome, an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by intellectual disability and overgrowth.

In Alzheimer's disease, H1.4 is significantly upregulated in post-mortem AD brain tissue compared to age-matched controls (mean log2FC: 0.3718; Chaparral AD proteomics). This elevation was detected across the profiled subcellular fractions in TMT-labeled quantitative proteomics analysis, suggesting potential involvement in AD-associated chromatin remodeling or altered gene expression patterns in the diseased brain.