KLF15 Gene - Kruppel-like Factor 15 | Function, Expression & Disease

KLF15 (Kruppel-like factor 15) encodes a zinc-finger transcription factor belonging to the Kruppel-like factor family. It regulates genes involved in metabolism, cardiac function, and cellular differentiation. KLF15 is highly expressed in liver, kidney, heart, and skeletal muscle, and plays a critical role in gluconeogenesis, amino acid metabolism, and cardiac hypertrophy. Dysregulation of KLF15 is implicated in metabolic disorders, cardiovascular diseases, and certain cancers.

Tissue Expression

Cell Line Expression

Hotspot Mutations

Mutation functional classification

• Glucocorticoid receptor signaling pathway (Reactome: R-HSA-3371568)

• Gluconeogenesis (Reactome: R-HSA-70263)

• Cardiac hypertrophy signaling (KEGG: hsa05410)

• Metabolic pathways (KEGG: hsa01100)

KLF15 is a 416-amino acid protein containing three C2H2-type zinc fingers at the C-terminus, which mediate sequence-specific DNA binding to GC-rich promoter regions. It functions as a transcriptional repressor or activator depending on context. In the heart, KLF15 inhibits hypertrophic signaling by repressing MEF2 and GATA4 activity. In the liver, it activates gluconeogenic genes in response to glucocorticoids and fasting. KLF15 also regulates amino acid catabolism and insulin sensitivity. Post-translational modifications include phosphorylation and acetylation, which modulate its stability and activity.