Zinc Finger Protein 256 (ZNF256)

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 TFIIIA.Using PCR primers based on conserved sequences of Kruppel-like genes to screen a bone marrow cDNA library, followed by database searching and 3-prime and 5-prime RACE, Han et al. (1999) isolated cDNAs encoding several zinc finger proteins, including ZNF256. The deduced 474-amino acid ZNF256 protein contains 13 tandemly repeated C-terminal zinc finger motifs with interspersed conserved knuckle sequences, as well as an N-terminal Kruppel-associated box (KRAB). Within the hematopoietic system, RT-PCR analysis detected selective expression restricted to myelomonocytic cell lines.