Zinc Finger Antiviral Protein (ZAP)

ZC3HAV1 is a CCCH-type zinc finger protein that prevents infection by retroviruses.PARP12 and ZCH3HAV1 share 27.5% and 26% overall amino acid sequence identity with TIPARP, respectively. They stated that the deduced ZC3HAV1 protein contains 902 amino acids.

Two mRNAs (3.5 and 4.5 kb) were observed in most tissues, possibly corresponding to alternative splice variants. Expression of the gene caused profound and specific loss of viral mRNAs from the cytoplasm of rat and mouse cells without affecting the levels of nuclear mRNAs. This observation suggested the existence of a previously unknown machinery for the inhibition of virus replication, targeting a step in viral gene expression.