Premium
A novel form of the myeloid‐specific zinc finger protein (MZF‐2)
Author(s) -
Murai Kasumi,
Murakami Hiroshi,
Nagata Shigekazu
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
genes to cells
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.912
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1365-2443
pISSN - 1356-9597
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2443.1997.1430341.x
Subject(s) - zinc finger , lim domain , biology , zinc finger nuclease , transcription factor , ring finger domain , transcription (linguistics) , microbiology and biotechnology , gene , genetics , linguistics , philosophy
Background: Myeloid cell development is controlled by tissue‐specific transcription factors. Human myeloid zinc finger protein (MZF‐1) is a putative transcription factor containing 13 zinc fingers, and has been suggested that it regulates the development of neutrophilic granulocytes. Results: Here, we have isolated the murine and human cDNAs which encode a novel form of MZF protein (MZF‐2). Murine and human MZF‐2 proteins consisted of 814 and 775 amino acids, respectively, and have identity of 75.3% between them. The C‐terminal half of human MZF‐2, carrying the zinc finger domains, was completely identical with that of human MZF‐1, whereas the N‐terminal half of MZF‐2 was different from the corresponding region of human MZF‐1, and was coded by distinct exons. MZF‐2 mRNA was expressed in myeloid cells, particularly in the cells committed to the neutrophilic lineage, and down‐regulated by G‐CSF. Conclusions: MZF‐1 and MZF‐2 mRNAs seem to be produced by the alternative use of two different transcription initiation sites. The distinct N‐terminal half of MZF‐2 carries two characteristic domains, a leucine‐rich domain called LeR and an acidic domain, which suggests a unique function of MZF‐2 in neutrophil development.