Zinc Finger, AN1-Type Domain Protein 5 (ZFAND5)

The deduced 213-amino acid protein contains 2 putative zinc finger domains. Human and mouse ZNF216 share 99% amino acid sequence identity. The human ZNF216 gene contains two 5-prime noncoding exons, which are alternatively spliced, and 5 coding exons. RT-PCR showed that ZNF216 is expressed in human fetal cochlea. Northern blot analysis of mouse tissues found highest Znf216 expression in brain, muscle, eye, and heart, lower expression in lung, kidney, and spleen, and very low expression in liver. The authors did not detect ARNSHL-causing mutations in the ZNF216 coding regions of 4 ARNSHL families with hearing loss linked to the DFNB7/11 locus. In addition, they found no difference in Znf216 transcript size or abundance between dn (deafness) and control mice.