Zinc Finger Protein 277 (ZNF277)

Zinc finger proteins are linked to the control of growth and differentiation.A zinc finger protein is a DNA-binding protein domain consisting of zinc fingers ranging from two in the Drosophila regulator ADR1, the more common three in mammalian Sp1 up to nine in TF_IIIA. By searching for putative tumor suppressor genes on 7q31.1, followed by searching an EST database and screening cDNA libraries, Liang et al. (2000) identified a cDNA encoding ZNF277. Genomic sequence analysis determined that the ZNF277 gene spans more than 100 kb and contains 12 exons. The predicted 438-amino acid protein has 5 putative zinc finger motifs. Northern blot analysis of hematopoietic tissues detected a 1.8-kb transcript in spleen, lymph node, peripheral blood leukocytes, and fetal liver.