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A novel zinc-finger protein ZNF436 suppresses transcriptional activities of AP-1 and SRE

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Abstract

Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are evolutionary conserved enzymes in cell signal transduction connecting cell-surface receptors to critical regulatory targets within cells and control cell survival, adaptation, and proliferation. Previous studies revealed that zinc finger proteins are involved in the regulation of the MAPK signaling pathways. Here we report the identification and characterization of a novel human zinc finger protein, ZNF436. The cDNA of ZNF436 is 3.8 kb, encoding 470 amino acids in the nucleus. The protein is highly conserved in evolution across different vertebrate species from rat to human. RT-PCR indicates that ZNF436 is expressed in all the human fetal tissues examined, with a high level in brain and heart. Overexpression of pCMV-tag2A-ZNF436 in the COS-7 cells represses the transcriptional activities of SRE and AP-1. These results suggest that ZNF436 is a member of the zinc finger transcription factor family and may act as a negative regulator in gene transcription mediated by the MAPK signaling pathways.

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Abbreviations

DMEM:

Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle Medium

DAPI4’:

6′-Diamidino-2- phenylindole hydrochloride

MAPK:

Mitogen-activated protein kinase

MAPKKMKK or MEK:

MAPK kinase

MAPKKK or MEKKA:

MAPKK kinase or MEK kinase

SRE:

Serum response element

AP-1:

Activation protein 1

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to all members of the Center for Heart Development, College of Life Sciences in Hunan Normal University for their excellent technical assistance and encouragement. This study was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 90508004, 30470867, 30270722, 30570934, 30571048, 30570265), PCSIRT of Education Ministry of China (IRT0445), National Basic Research Program of China (2005CB522505), and the Foundation of Hunan Province (No. 04FJ2006).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Center for Heart Development, College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, 410081, Changsha, Hunan, People’s Republic of China

    Yongqing Li, Xiaoyan Du, Fang Li, Yun Deng, Zhiyuan Yang, Yuequn Wang, Zhonglu Pen, Zequn Wang, Wuzhou Yuan & Xiushan Wu

  2. The Center for Heart Development, Key Lab of MOE for Development Biology and Protein Chemistry, College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, 410081, Changsha, Hunan, People’s Republic of China

    Chuanbing Zhu

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  1. Yongqing Li
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  2. Xiaoyan Du
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  3. Fang Li
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  9. Wuzhou Yuan
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  10. Chuanbing Zhu
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  11. Xiushan Wu
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Correspondence to Chuanbing Zhu or Xiushan Wu.

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Yongqing Li and Xiaoyan Du contributed equally to the work.

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Li, Y., Du, X., Li, F. et al. A novel zinc-finger protein ZNF436 suppresses transcriptional activities of AP-1 and SRE. Mol Biol Rep 33, 287–294 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-006-9019-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-006-9019-5

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