Zinc Fingers And Homeoboxes Protein 3 (ZHX3)

ZHX3 encodes a member of the zinc fingers and homeoboxes (ZHX) gene family. The encoded protein contains two C2H2-type zinc fingers and five homeodomains and forms a dimer with itself or with zinc fingers and homeoboxes family member 1. In the nucleus, the dimerized protein interacts with the A subunit of the ubiquitous transcription factor nuclear factor-Y and may function as a transcriptional repressor. ZHX3 encodes a 956-amino acid protein with a predicted molecular mass of 104.7 kD. It has 2 zinc finger domains, 5 homeodomains, a glu-rich region, and 2 nuclear localization signals. ZHX3 and ZHX1 share 34.4% amino acid identity. Northern blot analysis detected transcripts of 9.4, 7.3, 5.0, and 4.6 kb in all tissues examined. Immunofluorescence showed that full-length ZHX3 localized to the nucleus.