A NOVEL CLASS OF ZINC-FINGER LEUCINE-ZIPPER GENES IDENTIFIED FROM THEMOLECULAR-CLONING OF THE T(10-11) TRANSLOCATION IN ACUTE-LEUKEMIA

A novel class of conserved transcription factors has been identified f rom the molecular cloning of AF10, the gene involved in the t(10;11)(p 12;q23) translocation of acute myeloid leukemias. AF10 encodes a 109-k D protein of 1,027 amino acids and contains an N-terminal zinc finger region and a C-terminal leucine zipper. These structures have been fou nd to be conserved in sequence and position in three other proteins, A F17, BR140, and a previously unrecognized Caenorhabditis elegans gene, provisionally named CEZF. The overall structure, level of sequence co nservation, and expression pattern suggest that these genes encode a n ew class of transcription factors, some of which are targets for chrom osomal translocation in acute leukemia. (C) 1995 by The American Socie ty of Hematology.