Pleiomorphic Adenoma Gene Like Protein 2 (PLAGL2)

PLAG1, a developmentally regulated C2H2 zinc finger gene at chromosome 8q12, is the main target for pleomorphic adenomas of the salivary gland. By screening a human fetal kidney cDNA library with EST sequences showing homology to PLAG1, Kas et al. (1998) isolated a cDNA, which they designated PLAGL2, encoding a 496-amino acid protein. Sequence analysis of PLAGL2 showed at least 6 zinc fingers in the N-terminal region and a proline- and serine-rich C terminus. The N terminus of PLAGL2 is very similar to that of PLAGL1 and PLAG1 but the C-terminal regions are rather divergent. Northern blot analysis revealed expression of 7.5-kb major and 2.5-kb minor PLAGL2 transcripts in fetal kidney, liver, lung, and brain but not in adult tissues.