Zinc Finger Protein 397 (ZNF397)

ZNF397 encodes a full-length protein of 534 amino acids with an N-terminal SCAN domain and 9 tandem C-terminal C2H2 zinc finger repeats. Alternative splicing produces a truncated protein of 198 amino acids that lacks the zinc fingers. Both ZNF397 proteins share an identical N-terminal region of 185 amino acids containing 1 SCAN domain. Northern blot analysis detected ZNF397 transcripts of 9.0, 7.0, 2.5, and 1.7 kb. Expression was strong in testis, moderate in skeletal muscle, pancreas, and prostate, and weak in heart, placenta, liver, kidney, spleen, thymus, and small intestine. Immunohistochemistry showed that the full-length protein localized to the nucleus and the truncated protein localized diffusely throughout the cell.Deletion analysis demonstrated that the full-length ZNP397 protein lacking the zinc finger region could activate transcription.