Isolation of a cDNA encoding an IgG immunoreactive antigen (zinc finger protein) of Strongyloides stercoralis

A full length cDNA encoding an IgG immunoreactive antigen of Strongyloides stercoralis is described. A clone containing 1,328 bp insert was selected following screening of S. stercoralis cDNA library with an IgG fraction obtained from a pool of 78 S. stercoralis positive human sera samples. The nucleotide sequence of the 1,328 bp insert was found to be 70.5% A/T, reflecting a characteristic A/T codon bias of S. stercoralis. The nucleotide sequence of this insert identified a cDNA coding for a zinc finger protein. The conceptually translated amino acid sequence of the open reading frame for the IgG immunoreactive antigen of S. stercoralis encodes a 211 amino acid residue protein with an apparent molecular weight of 22.8 kDa and a predicted isoelectric point of 8.71. The diagnostic potential of this IgG immunoreactive antigen of S. stercoralis is also discussed.     

Isolation, characterization, and mapping of a novel human KRAB zinc finger protein encoding gene ZNF463

A novel human KRAB (Krüppel associated box) type zinc finger protein encoding gene, ZNF463, was obtained by mRNA differential display and RACE. It consists of 1904 nucleotides and encodes a protein of 463 amino acids with an amino-terminal KRAB domain and 12 carboxy-terminal C2H2 zinc finger units. The gene is mapped to chromosome 19q13.3 approximately 4 by FISH. As from Northern blot analysis ZNF463 is only expressed in testis, RT-PCR indicates that ZNF463 is expressed more highly in normal fertile adults than in fetus and azoospermic patients suggesting that it may play a role in human spermatogenesis.     

Isolation, cloning, and expression of a new murine zinc finger encoding gene.

With the aim of identifying genes involved in cartilage differentiation, we have used a subtractive hybridization strategy with cDNAs from a chondrocytic cell line (MC615) and mRNAs from a mesenchymal precursor cell line (10T1/2). We have isolated a cDNA clone representing a novel mouse gene. The predicted 368-amino acid protein, designated ZF-12, contains four C(2)H(2)-type zinc finger motifs and one region homologous to the LeR domain, a finger-associated structural domain. ZF-12 mRNAs are expressed during embryonic development and in different organs in adult, including rib cartilage. These data suggest that ZF-12 might play an important role not only in cartilage differentiation, but also in basic cellular processes.     

Cloning and characterization of a novel human gene encoding a zinc finger protein with 25 fingers

This study reports cloning and characterization of a human cDNA encoding a novel human zinc finger protein, ZFD25. ZFD25 cDNA is 6118 bp long and has an open reading frame of 2352 bp that encodes a 783 amino acid protein with 25 C2H2-type zinc fingers. The ZFD25 cDNA also contains a region with high sequence similarity to the Krüppel-associated box A and B domain in the 5'-untranslated region, suggesting that ZFD25 belongs to the Krüppel-associated box zinc finger protein family. The ZFD25 gene was localized to chromosome 7q11.2. Northern blot analysis showed that ZFD25 was expressed in a wide range of human organs. In cultured endothelial cells, the mRNA level was decreased upon serum starvation.     

Isolation of an osmotin-like protein gene from strawberry and analysis of the response of this gene to abiotic stresses

A strawberry genomic clone containing an osmotin-like protein (OLP) gene, designated FaOLP2, was isolated and sequenced. FaOLP2 is predicted to encode a precursor protein of 229 amino acid residues, and its sequence shares high degrees of homology with a number of other OLPs. Genomic DNA hybridization analysis indicated that FaOLP2 represents a multi-gene family. The expression of FaOP2 in different strawberry organs was analyzed using real-time PCR. The results showed that FaOLP2 expressed at different levels in leaves, crowns, roots, green fruits and ripe red fruits. In addition, the expression of FaOLP2 under different abiotic stresses was analyzed at different time points. All of the three tested abiotic stimuli, abscisic acid, salicylic acid and mechanical wounding, triggered a significant induction of FaOLP2 within 2-6h post-treatment. Moreover, FaOLP2 was more prominently induced by salicylic acid than by abscisic acid or mechanical wounding. The positive responses of FaOLP2 to the three abiotic stimuli suggested that strawberry FaOLP2 may help to protect against osmotic-related environmental stresses and that it may also be involved in plant defense system against pathogens.