POU domain, class 3, transcription factor 2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the POU3F2 gene.[4][5]
N-Oct-3 is a protein belonging to a large family of transcription factors that bind to the octameric DNA sequence ATGCAAAT. Most of these proteins share a highly homologous region, referred to as the POU domain, which occurs in several mammalian transcription factors, including the octamer-binding proteins Oct1 (POU2F1; MIM 164175) and Oct2 (POU2F2; MIM 164176), and the pituitary protein Pit1 (PIT1; MIM 173110).
Class III POU genes are expressed predominantly in the CNS. It is likely that CNS-specific transcription factors such as these play an important role in mammalian neurogenesis by regulating their diverse patterns of gene expression.[5]
The POU3F2 protein associates with the Bipolar disorder. It is involved in the neocortex development in mice, and is linked to a single nucleotide polymorphism, Rs1906252, that is associated with a cognitive phenotype: processing information speed.[6]
Chromosome 6q16.1 deletions resulting in loss of one copy of POU3F2 have been shown to cause a human syndrome of susceptibility to obesity and variable levels of developmental delay and Intellectual Disability.[7]