Zinc Finger Protein 256 (ZNF256)

A zinc finger protein is a DNA-binding protein domain consisting of zinc fingers ranging from two in the Drosophila regulator ADR1, the more common three in mammalian Sp1 up to nine in TF_IIIA.

Using PCR primers based on conserved sequences of Kruppel-like genes to screen a bone marrow cDNA library, followed by database searching and 3-prime and 5-prime RACE, Han et al. (1999) isolated cDNAs encoding several zinc finger proteins, including ZNF256. The deduced 474-amino acid ZNF256 protein contains 13 tandemly repeated C-terminal zinc finger motifs with interspersed conserved knuckle sequences, as well as an N-terminal Kruppel-associated box (KRAB). Within the hematopoietic system, RT-PCR analysis detected selective expression restricted to myelomonocytic cell lines.