The OZF Gene Encodes a Protein Consisting Essentially of Zinc Finger Motifs

A novel member of the zinc finger Krüppel family was isolated as a cDNA clone from the human mammary cell line HBL100. It contains an open reading frame consisting of 32 amino acid residues followed by ten zinc finger motifs and was accordingly named OZF (Only Zinc Fingers). Assuming that translation initiation starts at the unique methionine codon, 22 codons downstream of the beginning of the open reading frame as suggested by in vitro translation of OZF mRNA, the OZF protein is 292 residues long and has an estimated molecular mass of 33kDa. The OZF gene is located in band q13.1 of the long arm of human chromosome 19. It is expressed as a single mRNA in liver, skeletal muscle and mammary cells and as two mRNA species in heart muscle. Absent or very low levels of expression were observed in brain, lung, placenta, kidney and human fibroblasts in culture. Thus, the OZF protein, which consists essentially of a DNA/RNA binding domain, may act as a tissue-specific modulator of gene expression.