A NOVEL FAMILY OF CYS-CYS, HIS-CYS ZINC-FINGER TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS EXPRESSED IN DEVELOPING NERVOUS-SYSTEM AND PITUITARY-GLAND

A screen designed to identify proteins that specifically bind to retin oic acid response elements resulted in the identification of a rat cDN A encoding a novel protein containing six Cys-Cys, His-Cys zinc finger s, This gene is expressed in a restricted fashion exhibiting distinct temporal and spatial patterns in the developing nervous system, primar ily brain, spinal cord, sensory ganglia, retina, and nasal epithelia, as well as in the pituitary, and is referred to as neural zinc finger factor 1 (NZF-1), NZF-1 binds specifically to a cis-regulatory element of the beta-retinoic acid receptor (RAR beta) gene, as well as to oth er related DNA elements, including two in the upstream enhancer region of the mouse Pit-1 gene. In heterologous cells, NZF-1 activates trans cription from promoters containing specific binding sequences and can synergize with other factors, such as Pit-1, to regulate gene expressi on, These results suggest that NZF-1 may exert regulatory roles in the developing and mature nervous system and in the pituitary gland, Iden tification of a second mouse gene highly homologous to NZF-1, encoded by a distinct genomic locus, reveals a dispersed gene family encoding proteins containing Cys-Cys, His-Cys motifs.