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 TFIIIA. 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.