Zinc Finger, MYM-Type Protein 6 (ZMYM6)

By searching an EST database for sequences encoding zinc finger-like proteins, followed by 5-prime and 3-prime RACE of a human thymus cDNA library, Smedley et al. (1999) cloned ZNF258. The deduced 724-amino acid protein contains 5 tandem myeloproliferative and mental retardation (MYM) motifs, conserved motifs that closely resemble zinc-binding sequences. However, 2 of the repeats are imperfect and each lacks 2 conserved cysteines. Northern blot analysis detected variable expression of several ZNF258 transcripts in all tissues examined, with highest expression in heart, skeletal muscle, kidney, and liver. The predicted protein products of ZNF258 and ZNF262 maintain the repeats of the MYM motif. Isolation of these new members will facilitate the functional characterization of the MYM family and motif.