title: Coding region intron/exon organization, alternative splicing, and X-chromosome inactivation of the KRAB/FPB-domain-containing human zinc finger gene ZNF41.
abstract: ZNF41 belongs to a cluster of human zinc finger genes residing within a gene-rich region at Xp11.23. ZNF41 encodes a KRAB/FPB (Krüppel-associated/finger preceding box) domain, a potent transcription repression motif present in hundreds of vertebrate zinc finger protein genes, composed of two protein modules, A and B. Three introns, placed at identical positions in paralogous genes, interrupt four exons encoding the ZNF41 N-terminal amino acids, the KRAB/FPB-A and KRAB/FPB-B modules, and the remaining coding region adjoined to the C-terminal zinc finger domain. Since the KRAB/FPB-A and KRAB/FPB-B modules are encoded by dedicated exons in ZNF41 and paralogous genes, exon skipping may lead to differential usage of these modules in alternative gene products. RT-PCR analysis of ZNF41 mRNAs showed that, while skipping of the KRAB/FPB-A and/or KRAB/FPB-B exons was not detected, the use of alternative donor/acceptor sites upstream of the KRAB/FPB-A exon generates multiple ZNF41 transcripts potentially encoding polypeptides differing in the N-terminal region and expressed in different tissues. The expression pattern in cell hybrids containing either active or inactive X chromosomes indicates that ZNF41, which resides within a region of the X chromosome that includes genes that are both subject to and escape X-inactivation, is susceptible to X-chromosome inactivation.
authors.affiliation: International Institute of Genetics and Biophysics, CNR, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rosati
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Franzé
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Matarazzo
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Grimaldi
mesh_terms: D017398:Alternative Splicing / Q000235:genetics*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D004303:Dosage Compensation, Genetic; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D006822:Hybrid Cells; D051741:Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014960:X Chromosome / Q000235:genetics; D016335:Zinc Fingers / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D051741:Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C089461:ZNF41 protein, human