Genomic organization and promoter identification of ZNF146, a gene encoding a protein consisting solely of zinc finger domains

The ZNF146 gene (alias OZF) encodes a protein consisting solely of ten zinc finger motifs. It is amplified and overexpressed in pancreatic carcinomas. To better understand the mechanisms controlling its expression, we have is olated the human ZNF146 gene and performed an initial assessment of its pro moter activity. ZNF146 encompasses 25 kb of sequence and consists of tour n on-coding exons located upstream of a single coding exon. The sequence of p roximal 1.4 kb of ZNF146 promoter has a high GC content, is devoid of a TAT A box and contains several potential transcriptional elements. This region directs high-level expression of a transfected reporter construct in human cell lines. Analysis of a series of 5'-deletion constructs indicated that t he first 80 bp upstream of the potential start site of transcription carry minimal promoter activity whereas the first 550 bp are required for maximal promoter activity. Copyright (C) 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel.