The centromeric/nucleolar chromatin protein ZFP-37 may function to specify neuronal nuclear domains.
Murine ZFP-37 is a member of the large family of C2H2 type zinc finger proteins. It is characterized by a truncated NH2-terminal Krüppel-associated box and is thought to play a role in transcriptional regulation. During development Zfp-37 mRNA is most abundant in the developing central nervous system, and in the adult mouse expression is restricted largely to testis and brain. Here we show that at the protein level ZFP-37 is detected readily in neurons of the adult central nervous system but hardly in testis. In brain ZFP-37 is associated with nucleoli and appears to contact heterochromatin. Mouse and human ZFP-37 have a basic histone H1-like linker domain, located between KRAB and zinc finger regions, which binds double-stranded DNA. Thus we suggest that ZFP-37 is a structural protein of the neuronal nucleus which plays a role in the maintenance of specialized chromatin domains.
Payen
E
E
Department of Cell Biology and Genetics, Erasmus University, P. O. Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Verkerk
T
T
Michalovich
D
D
Dreyer
S D
SD
Winterpacht
A
A
Lee
B
B
De Zeeuw
C I
CI
Grosveld
F
F
Galjart
N
N
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D019556:COS Cells; D002466:Cell Nucleolus / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002503:Centromere / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002843:Chromatin / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D006570:Heterochromatin / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006657:Histones / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D051741:Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009928:Organ Specificity; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000737:chemistry; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013737:Testis / Q000378:metabolism; D014157:Transcription Factors; D014162:Transfection; D016335:Zinc Fingers
D002843:Chromatin; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D006570:Heterochromatin; D006657:Histones; D051741:Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C484460:ZFP37 protein, human; C102886:Zfp37 protein, mouse; D004247:DNA