Zinc Finger Protein 331 (ZNF331)

Zinc finger proteins have been shown to interact with nucleic acids and to have diverse functions. The zinc finger domain is a conserved amino acid sequence motif containing 2 specifically positioned cysteines and 2 histidines that are involved in coordinating zinc. Kruppel-related proteins form one family of zinc finger proteins. See ZFP93 for additional information on zinc finger proteins.

ZNF463, encoding a 463-amino acid protein with an N-terminal KRAB domain and 12 C-terminal C2H2 zinc finger units. Northern blot analysis revealed testis-restricted expression of a 1.9-kb ZNF463 transcript. RT-PCR analysis demonstrated higher expression of ZNF463 in normal fertile adults than in fetuses or patients with azoospermia, suggesting that ZNF463 may play a role in spermatogenesis.