A new Cys2/His2 zinc finger gene, rKr1, expressed in oligodendrocytes and neurons.
Brain Res Mol Brain Res
; 38(1): 109-21, 1996 May.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-8737674
ABSTRACT
The myelination of nerve fibers is essential for the function of the vertebrate nervous system as a prerequisite for fast saltatory conduction of action potentials. In the central nervous system (CNS), myelin is produced by oligodendrocytes. In order to identify gene regulatory proteins involved in the differentiation of this glial cell type or in the expression of myelin-specific genes, we have constructed a cDNA library from a highly enriched population of rat oligodendrocytes and screened this library for members of the Krüppel family of Cys2/His2 zinc finger proteins. One of the identified clones, named rKr1, encodes a novel protein of 650 amino acids which contains 12 carboxy-terminal zinc finger domains and an amino-terminal acidic domain. On Northern blots, a single rKr1 mRNA of 4.3 kb is detected. This message is present in all adult rat tissues tested, with the highest levels found in the CNS and testis. In situ hybridization on the P15 brain revealed that the transcript is expressed in differentiated oligodendrocytes and in subtypes of neurons. Particularly high message levels are found in motor neurons of the brainstem and the spinal cord. The modular structure of the rKr1 protein, in which a potential DNA binding region (the zinc fingers) is combined with a putative activation domain (the acidic region), suggests a function as sequence-specific transcriptional activator.
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Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Oligodendroglia
/
Gene Expression Regulation
/
Zinc Fingers
/
Cysteine
/
Histidine
/
Neurons
Limits:
Animals
Language:
En
Journal:
Brain Res Mol Brain Res
Journal subject:
BIOLOGIA MOLECULAR
/
CEREBRO
Year:
1996
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Switzerland