Transcripts of fliz1, a nuclear zinc finger protein, are expressed in discrete foci of the murine fetal liver

The origin and expansion of hematopoietic progenitor and stem cells during fetal development and their differentiation into mature effector cells are thought to be driven by the activation of developmental stage-and cell-line age-specific genes. To gain further insight into the molecular mechanisms r egulating the expansion and differentiation of fetal hematopoietic progenit or and stem cells, we performed differential display RT-PCR analysis on fra ctionated murine E12 fetal liver cells. We identified a novel transcript pr edicted to encode a protein of 305 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of 35 kDa, containing a charged domain and three putative C,H-type zin c fingers, The fetal liver zinc-finger protein 1 (Fliz1) transcript is appr oximately 1.8 kb and is variably expressed both during embryogenesis and in adult tissues, Fliz1 expression was detected in discrete cell foci in the fetal liver and in LLN-/ckit(+) cells. Nuclear localization studies reveale d that Fliz1 is targeted to the nucleus. Thus, Fliz1 is a newly identified nuclear protein expressed in hematopoietic progenitor cells of the developi ng fetal liver. (C) 2001 Academic Press.