MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF HUMAN ZYXIN

Zyxin is a component of adhesion plaques that has been suggested to pe rform regulatory functions at these specialized regions of the plasma membrane, Here we describe the isolation and characterization of cDNAs encoding human and mouse zyxin. Both the human and mouse zyxin protei ns display a collection of proline-rich sequences as well as three cop ies of the LIM domain, a zinc finger domain found in many signaling mo lecules. The human zyxin protein is closely related in sequence to pro teins implicated in benign tumorigenesis and steroid receptor binding. Antibodies raised against human zyxin recognize an 84-kDa protein by Western immunoblot analysis. The protein is localized at focal contact s in adherent erythroleukemia cells. By Northern analysis, we show tha t zyxin is widely expressed in human tissues. The zyxin gene maps to h uman chromosome 7q32-q36.