用人/啮齿类体细胞杂种系及荧光原位杂交将人类新基因ZNF191定位于染色体18q12.1

本文以锌指蛋白ZNF191全长cDNA为探针,与人/啮齿类体细胞杂种系DNA杂交,将这个新的人类锌指基因定位于18号染色体。又用该cDNA筛选人基因组DNA lambda/DASH文库,以获得的DNA片段为探针,进行人染色体荧光原位杂交(FISH)分析,将ZNF191基因精细定位在染色体18q 12.1区带。依据有关遗传连锁分析和等位基因荧光原位杂交(FISH),将ZNF191精确定位于人染色体18q12.1。通过遗传连锁及染色体杂合性丢失分析.目前已知多种遗传病和肿瘤与这个区域相关。因此,ZNF191基因可作为这些疾病或肿瘤的候选相关基因。     

Functional zinc finger/sleeping beauty transposase chimeras exhibit attenuated overproduction inhibition

The sleeping beauty (SB) transposon system has potential utility in gene transfer applications but lacks specificity for genomic integration and exhibits overproduction inhibition which limits in vivo activity. Targeting transposition may be possible by coupling a specific DNA binding domain to the SB transposase, but it is not known if this strategy will preserve or disrupt activity of the system. We engineered and tested chimeric SB transposases with two different human zinc finger DNA binding domain elements, Sp1 and zinc finger 202 (ZNF202). Addition of Sp1 to the C-terminus abolished transposase activity whereas N-terminal addition of either Sp1 or ZNF202 did not. Transposition activity exhibited by N-terminal chimeras was increased to levels similar to native SB through the use of a hyperactive transposase (SB12) and activating transposon mutations. Importantly, addition of DNA binding domains to the transposase N-terminus resulted in attenuation of overproduction inhibition, a major limitation of this system. These findings suggest that SB transposase chimeras may have specific advantages over the native enzyme.     

A Novel Zinc Finger Gene ZNF468 with Two Co-Expressional Splice Variants, ZNF468.1 and ZNF468.2

A novel human zinc finger protein encoding gene ZNF468 was obtained from a fetal brain cDNA library. By BLAST-N analysis we found two different splice variants. We termed the two splice variants ZNF468.1 and ZNF468.2. By BLAST search against the human genome database, ZNF468 was mapped to 19q13.4. The ZNF468.1 cDNA has four exons, and the ZNF468.2 cDNA has one more, between the third and fourth exon. This extra exon creates a difference between the deduced protein N-termini of the two splice variants. The ZNF468.1 cDNA is 3906 bp in length, encoding a 522a a protein, and ZNF468.2 is 4024 bp, encoding a 469-aa-protein. Both proteins contain 11 C2H2-type zinc finger motifs at their C-termini. The N-terminus of the deduced protein of ZNF468.1 has a well-conserved Krüppel-associated box (KRAB) domain that consists of KRAB boxes A and B, whereas the protein of ZNF468.2 does not have the {KRAB} domain. Tissue distribution of the ZNF468 gene indicates that the two splice variants are widely expressed in normal human tissues, except in heart and brain, and they are also co-expressional.     

Sphingosine-1-phosphate induces human endothelial VEGF and MMP-2 production via transcription factor ZNF580: Novel insights into angiogenesis

Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P)-induced migration and proliferation of endothelial cells are critical for angiogenesis. C2H2-zinc finger (ZNF) proteins usually play an essential role in altering gene expression and regulating the angiogenesis. The aim of this study is to investigate whether a novel human C2H2-zinc finger gene ZNF580 (Gene ID: 51157) is involved in the migration and proliferation of endothelial cells stimulated by S1P. Our study shows that EAhy926 endothelial cells express S1P1, S1P3 and S1P5 receptors. Furthermore, S1P upregulates both ZNF580 mRNA and protein levels in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. SB203580, the specific inhibitor of the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) pathway, blocks the S1P-induced upregulation of ZNF580. Moreover, overexpression/downexpression of ZNF580 in EAhy926 cells leads to the enhancement/decrease of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression as well as the migration and proliferation of EAhy926 endothelial cells. These results elucidate the important role that ZNF580 plays in the process of migration and proliferation of endothelial cells, which provides a foundation for a novel approach to regulate angiogenesis.     

ZNF403，一个新的细胞周期调节因子的功能研究

ZNF403和LCRG1是人类基因ZNF403的2个不同转录剪切本.以往的研究表明LCRG1在喉癌细胞株Hep-2中具有抑瘤特性.本研究旨在探明ZNF403和LCRG1不同剪切本之间的关系以及在肿瘤细胞中对ZNF403的功能进行研究.首先,采用实时荧光定量PCR对这2个转录本的相对表达水平进行分析,结果表明,ZNF403表达水平在不同细胞株中明显高于LCRG1(>10倍),为该基因的主要转录表达产物.随后分别采用MTT细胞生长分析法和裸鼠体内成瘤实验在体外和体内对ZNF403的功能进行分析,结果显示ZNF403的基因沉默可以同时在体内和体外抑制喉癌细胞Hep-2细胞的生长.为了探明其作用机制,本研究还采用细胞信息学、流式细胞周期分析术和高通量PCR点阵分析方法进一步分析,结果表明,ZNF403的基因沉默可显著抑制细胞DNA的复制并延缓细胞周期进入到有丝分裂期.同时发现ZNF403可调节一系列的细胞周期调节蛋白如MCM2、p21、ATM、MRE11A等.综上研究提示ZNF403为一新的细胞周期调节因子,其功能的缺失与肿瘤发生发展密切相关.