ASCL2 Gene

HGNC Family Basic helix-loop-helix proteins (BHLH)
Name achaete-scute family bHLH transcription factor 2
Description This gene is a member of the basic helix-loop-helix (BHLH) family of transcription factors. It activates transcription by binding to the E box (5'-CANNTG-3'). Dimerization with other BHLH proteins is required for efficient DNA binding. Involved in the determination of the neuronal precursors in the peripheral nervous system and the central nervous system. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]
Summary
{"type": "root", "children": [{"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n ASCL2 is a basic helix‐loop‐helix transcription factor that occupies multifaceted roles in regulating cell fate. In the intestine, it is a critical Wnt target that functions as a master regulator of stem cell identity. Gain‐ and loss‐of‐function experiments demonstrate that ectopic ASCL2 expression induces crypt hyperplasia and ectopic crypt formation, whereas its deletion results in rapid loss of Lgr5+ stem cells, thereby establishing a transcriptional switch that governs intestinal stem cell fate and maintenance."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "1"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " ASCL2 also plays a pivotal role in the immune system; its selective upregulation in CD4+ T cells drives follicular T‐helper (TFH) cell development by upregulating CXCR5 and concomitantly downregulating CCR7, thereby accelerating T cell migration into B cell follicles."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "3"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " In the context of colorectal neoplasia, aberrant overexpression of ASCL2 is observed in adenomas and adenocarcinomas, where its nuclear colocalization with β‐catenin and potential promotion of progression through the G2/M cell cycle checkpoint implicate it in tumorigenesis."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "4"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " Furthermore, its transcription is subject to epigenetic control via repressive complexes including those containing JMJD2A and N‑CoR, a regulatory mechanism that contributes to proper tissue‐specific expression such as during trophoblast development in the placenta."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "5"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "rg", "children": [{"type": "r", "ref": 1, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Laurens G van der Flier, Marielle E van Gijn, Pantelis Hatzis, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Transcription factor achaete scute-like 2 controls intestinal stem cell fate."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cell (2009)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.cell.2009.01.031"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2009.01.031"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "19269367"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19269367"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 2, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Jurian Schuijers, Jan Philipp Junker, Michal Mokry, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Ascl2 acts as an R-spondin/Wnt-responsive switch to control stemness in intestinal crypts."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cell Stem Cell (2015)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.stem.2014.12.006"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2014.12.006"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "25620640"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25620640"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 3, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Xindong Liu, Xin Chen, Bo Zhong, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Transcription factor achaete-scute homologue 2 initiates follicular T-helper-cell development."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Nature (2014)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/nature12910"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/nature12910"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "24463518"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24463518"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 4, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "A M Jubb, S Chalasani, G D Frantz, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Achaete-scute like 2 (ascl2) is a target of Wnt signalling and is upregulated in intestinal neoplasia."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Oncogene (2006)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/sj.onc.1209382"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.onc.1209382"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "16568095"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16568095"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 5, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Dianzheng Zhang, Ho-Guen Yoon, Jiemin Wong "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "JMJD2A is a novel N-CoR-interacting protein and is involved in repression of the human transcription factor achaete scute-like homologue 2 (ASCL2/Hash2)."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mol Cell Biol (2005)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1128/MCB.25.15.6404-6414.2005"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1128/MCB.25.15.6404-6414.2005"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "16024779"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16024779"}]}]}]}
Synonyms HASH2, ASH2, BHLHA45, MASH2
Proteins ASCL2_HUMAN
NCBI Gene ID 430
API
Download Associations
Predicted Functions View ASCL2's ARCHS4 Predicted Functions.
Co-expressed Genes View ASCL2's ARCHS4 Predicted Functions.
Expression in Tissues and Cell Lines View ASCL2's ARCHS4 Predicted Functions.

Functional Associations

ASCL2 has 4,694 functional associations with biological entities spanning 9 categories (molecular profile, organism, functional term, phrase or reference, chemical, disease, phenotype or trait, structural feature, cell line, cell type or tissue, gene, protein or microRNA, sequence feature) extracted from 93 datasets.

Click the + buttons to view associations for ASCL2 from the datasets below.

If available, associations are ranked by standardized value

Dataset Summary
Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles tissues with high or low expression of ASCL2 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles tissues with high or low expression of ASCL2 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray tissue samples with high or low expression of ASCL2 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray dataset.
Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by RNA-seq tissue samples with high or low expression of ASCL2 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by RNA-seq dataset.
Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles tissues with high or low expression of ASCL2 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles cell lines with high or low expression of ASCL2 gene relative to other cell lines from the BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles cell types and tissues with high or low expression of ASCL2 gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles cell types and tissues with high or low expression of ASCL2 gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles cell lines with high or low copy number of ASCL2 gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles cell lines with high or low expression of ASCL2 gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations cell types associated with ASCL2 gene from the CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations dataset.
ChEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of ASCL2 gene from the CHEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
ChEA Transcription Factor Targets transcription factors binding the promoter of ASCL2 gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
ChEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022 transcription factors binding the promoter of ASCL2 gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022 dataset.
COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores cellular components containing ASCL2 protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 cellular components containing ASCL2 protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores cellular components co-occuring with ASCL2 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 cellular components co-occuring with ASCL2 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions chemicals interacting with ASCL2 gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions dataset.
CTD Gene-Disease Associations diseases associated with ASCL2 gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency cell lines with fitness changed by ASCL2 gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency dataset.
DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores diseases associated with ASCL2 gene in GWAS datasets from the DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores dataset.
DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025 diseases associated with ASCL2 gene in GWAS datasets from the DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores diseases co-occuring with ASCL2 gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores dataset.
DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025 diseases co-occuring with ASCL2 gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations diseases associated with ASCL2 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
DisGeNET Gene-Phenotype Associations phenotypes associated with ASCL2 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Phenoptype Associations dataset.
ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles histone modification site profiles with high histone modification abundance at ASCL2 gene from the ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles dataset.
ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of ASCL2 gene from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets transcription factors binding the promoter of ASCL2 gene in ChIP-seq datasets from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells PubMedIDs of publications reporting gene signatures containing ASCL2 from the ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells dataset.
GAD High Level Gene-Disease Associations diseases associated with ASCL2 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the GAD High Level Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
GDSC Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles cell lines with high or low expression of ASCL2 gene relative to other cell lines from the GDSC Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
GeneRIF Biological Term Annotations biological terms co-occuring with ASCL2 gene in literature-supported statements describing functions of genes from the GeneRIF Biological Term Annotations dataset.
GeneSigDB Published Gene Signatures PubMedIDs of publications reporting gene signatures containing ASCL2 from the GeneSigDB Published Gene Signatures dataset.
GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Diseases disease perturbations changing expression of ASCL2 gene from the GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Diseases dataset.
GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Gene Perturbations gene perturbations changing expression of ASCL2 gene from the GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Gene Perturbations dataset.
GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Kinase Perturbations kinase perturbations changing expression of ASCL2 gene from the GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Kinase Perturbations dataset.
GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules small molecule perturbations changing expression of ASCL2 gene from the GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules dataset.
GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Transcription Factor Perturbations transcription factor perturbations changing expression of ASCL2 gene from the GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Transcription Factor Perturbations dataset.
GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Viral Infections virus perturbations changing expression of ASCL2 gene from the GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Viral Infections dataset.
GO Biological Process Annotations 2015 biological processes involving ASCL2 gene from the curated GO Biological Process Annotations 2015 dataset.
GO Biological Process Annotations 2023 biological processes involving ASCL2 gene from the curated GO Biological Process Annotations 2023 dataset.
GO Biological Process Annotations 2025 biological processes involving ASCL2 gene from the curated GO Biological Process Annotations2025 dataset.
GO Cellular Component Annotations 2015 cellular components containing ASCL2 protein from the curated GO Cellular Component Annotations 2015 dataset.
GO Cellular Component Annotations 2023 cellular components containing ASCL2 protein from the curated GO Cellular Component Annotations 2023 dataset.
GO Cellular Component Annotations 2025 cellular components containing ASCL2 protein from the curated GO Cellular Component Annotations 2025 dataset.
GO Molecular Function Annotations 2015 molecular functions performed by ASCL2 gene from the curated GO Molecular Function Annotations 2015 dataset.
GO Molecular Function Annotations 2023 molecular functions performed by ASCL2 gene from the curated GO Molecular Function Annotations 2023 dataset.
GO Molecular Function Annotations 2025 molecular functions performed by ASCL2 gene from the curated GO Molecular Function Annotations 2025 dataset.
GTEx eQTL 2025 SNPs regulating expression of ASCL2 gene from the GTEx eQTL 2025 dataset.
GTEx Tissue Gene Expression Profiles tissues with high or low expression of ASCL2 gene relative to other tissues from the GTEx Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
GTEx Tissue Gene Expression Profiles 2023 tissues with high or low expression of ASCL2 gene relative to other tissues from the GTEx Tissue Gene Expression Profiles 2023 dataset.
GTEx Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles tissue samples with high or low expression of ASCL2 gene relative to other tissue samples from the GTEx Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
HPA Tissue Gene Expression Profiles tissues with high or low expression of ASCL2 gene relative to other tissues from the HPA Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
HPA Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles tissue samples with high or low expression of ASCL2 gene relative to other tissue samples from the HPA Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
Hub Proteins Protein-Protein Interactions interacting hub proteins for ASCL2 from the curated Hub Proteins Protein-Protein Interactions dataset.
HuBMAP ASCT+B Annotations cell types associated with ASCL2 gene from the HuBMAP ASCT+B dataset.
HuBMAP ASCT+B Augmented with RNA-seq Coexpression cell types associated with ASCL2 gene from the HuBMAP ASCT+B Augmented with RNA-seq Coexpression dataset.
InterPro Predicted Protein Domain Annotations protein domains predicted for ASCL2 protein from the InterPro Predicted Protein Domain Annotations dataset.
JASPAR Predicted Transcription Factor Targets transcription factors regulating expression of ASCL2 gene predicted using known transcription factor binding site motifs from the JASPAR Predicted Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
Kinase Library Serine Threonine Kinome Atlas kinases that phosphorylate ASCL2 protein from the Kinase Library Serine Threonine Atlas dataset.
Klijn et al., Nat. Biotechnol., 2015 Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles cell lines with high or low copy number of ASCL2 gene relative to other cell lines from the Klijn et al., Nat. Biotechnol., 2015 Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
Klijn et al., Nat. Biotechnol., 2015 Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles cell lines with ASCL2 gene mutations from the Klijn et al., Nat. Biotechnol., 2015 Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles dataset.
KnockTF Gene Expression Profiles with Transcription Factor Perturbations transcription factor perturbations changing expression of ASCL2 gene from the KnockTF Gene Expression Profiles with Transcription Factor Perturbations dataset.
LINCS L1000 CMAP Chemical Perturbation Consensus Signatures small molecule perturbations changing expression of ASCL2 gene from the LINCS L1000 CMAP Chemical Perturbations Consensus Signatures dataset.
LOCATE Curated Protein Localization Annotations cellular components containing ASCL2 protein in low- or high-throughput protein localization assays from the LOCATE Curated Protein Localization Annotations dataset.
LOCATE Predicted Protein Localization Annotations cellular components predicted to contain ASCL2 protein from the LOCATE Predicted Protein Localization Annotations dataset.
MGI Mouse Phenotype Associations 2023 phenotypes of transgenic mice caused by ASCL2 gene mutations from the MGI Mouse Phenotype Associations 2023 dataset.
MiRTarBase microRNA Targets microRNAs targeting ASCL2 gene in low- or high-throughput microRNA targeting studies from the MiRTarBase microRNA Targets dataset.
MotifMap Predicted Transcription Factor Targets transcription factors regulating expression of ASCL2 gene predicted using known transcription factor binding site motifs from the MotifMap Predicted Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
MoTrPAC Rat Endurance Exercise Training tissue samples with high or low expression of ASCL2 gene relative to other tissue samples from the MoTrPAC Rat Endurance Exercise Training dataset.
MPO Gene-Phenotype Associations phenotypes of transgenic mice caused by ASCL2 gene mutations from the MPO Gene-Phenotype Associations dataset.
MSigDB Cancer Gene Co-expression Modules co-expressed genes for ASCL2 from the MSigDB Cancer Gene Co-expression Modules dataset.
MSigDB Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Cancer Gene Perturbations gene perturbations changing expression of ASCL2 gene from the MSigDB Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Cancer Gene Perturbations dataset.
Pathway Commons Protein-Protein Interactions interacting proteins for ASCL2 from the Pathway Commons Protein-Protein Interactions dataset.
PerturbAtlas Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Gene Perturbations gene perturbations changing expression of ASCL2 gene from the PerturbAtlas Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Gene Perturbations dataset.
PerturbAtlas Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Mouse Gene Perturbations gene perturbations changing expression of ASCL2 gene from the PerturbAtlas Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Gene Perturbations dataset.
PFOCR Pathway Figure Associations 2023 pathways involving ASCL2 protein from the PFOCR Pathway Figure Associations 2023 dataset.
PFOCR Pathway Figure Associations 2024 pathways involving ASCL2 protein from the Wikipathways PFOCR 2024 dataset.
Replogle et al., Cell, 2022 K562 Essential Perturb-seq Gene Perturbation Signatures gene perturbations changing expression of ASCL2 gene from the Replogle et al., Cell, 2022 K562 Essential Perturb-seq Gene Perturbation Signatures dataset.
Replogle et al., Cell, 2022 K562 Genome-wide Perturb-seq Gene Perturbation Signatures gene perturbations changing expression of ASCL2 gene from the Replogle et al., Cell, 2022 K562 Genome-wide Perturb-seq Gene Perturbation Signatures dataset.
Roadmap Epigenomics Cell and Tissue DNA Methylation Profiles cell types and tissues with high or low DNA methylation of ASCL2 gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the Roadmap Epigenomics Cell and Tissue DNA Methylation Profiles dataset.
Roadmap Epigenomics Histone Modification Site Profiles histone modification site profiles with high histone modification abundance at ASCL2 gene from the Roadmap Epigenomics Histone Modification Site Profiles dataset.
RummaGEO Drug Perturbation Signatures drug perturbations changing expression of ASCL2 gene from the RummaGEO Drug Perturbation Signatures dataset.
RummaGEO Gene Perturbation Signatures gene perturbations changing expression of ASCL2 gene from the RummaGEO Gene Perturbation Signatures dataset.
Tabula Sapiens Gene-Cell Associations cell types with high or low expression of ASCL2 gene relative to other cell types from the Tabula Sapiens Gene-Cell Associations dataset.
TargetScan Predicted Conserved microRNA Targets microRNAs regulating expression of ASCL2 gene predicted using conserved miRNA seed sequences from the TargetScan Predicted Conserved microRNA Targets dataset.
TargetScan Predicted Nonconserved microRNA Targets microRNAs regulating expression of ASCL2 gene predicted using nonconserved miRNA seed sequences from the TargetScan Predicted Nonconserved microRNA Targets dataset.
TCGA Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Tumors tissue samples with high or low expression of ASCL2 gene relative to other tissue samples from the TCGA Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Tumors dataset.
TISSUES Experimental Tissue Protein Expression Evidence Scores tissues with high expression of ASCL2 protein in proteomics datasets from the TISSUES Experimental Tissue Protein Expression Evidence Scores dataset.
TISSUES Text-mining Tissue Protein Expression Evidence Scores tissues co-occuring with ASCL2 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the TISSUES Text-mining Tissue Protein Expression Evidence Scores dataset.
TISSUES Text-mining Tissue Protein Expression Evidence Scores 2025 tissues co-occuring with ASCL2 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the TISSUES Text-mining Tissue Protein Expression Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.