Makorin Ring Finger Protein 3 (MKRN3)

The ZNF127 gene encodes a 507-amino acid protein with a RING (C3HC4) zinc finger motif and multiple C3H zinc finger motifs, the former being closely related to a protein from variola major virus, the smallpox etiologic agent. These motifs predict ribonucleoprotein function for the ZNF127 polypeptide.

Northern blot analysis revealed that the intronless ZNF127 gene is expressed ubiquitously as an approximately 3-kb transcript; however, the entire coding sequence and 5-prime CpG island overlap a second gene, ZNF127AS, which is transcribed from the antisense strand with a different transcript size and pattern of expression. Allele-specific analysis showed that the ZNF127 gene is expressed only from the paternal allele.