RE1 Silencing Transcription Factor (REST)

REST encodes a transcriptional repressor which represses neuronal genes in non-neuronal tissues. It is a member of the Kruppel-type zinc finger transcription factor family. It represses transcription by binding a DNA sequence element called the neuron-restrictive silencer element. The protein is also found in undifferentiated neuronal progenitor cells, and it is thought that this repressor may act as a master negative regular of neurogenesis. Alternatively spliced transcript variants have been described; however, their full length nature has not been determined. REST is a transcriptional repressor that regulates gene expression throughout the body. It binds 21-bp repressor element-1 (RE1) sites, also called neuron-restrictive silencer elements (NRSEs), through its 8 C2H2 zinc fingers.