ZNF325, a novel human zinc finger protein with a RBaK-like RB-binding domain, inhibits AP-1- and SRE-mediated transcriptional activity

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signal transduction pathways are among the most widespread mechanisms of eukaryotic cell regulation. The zinc-finger-containing transcription factors have been previously revealed to be involved in the regulation of the MAPK signaling pathways. Here, we have identified a novel human zinc-finger transcriptional repressor, ZNF325, that contains a RBaK-like RB-binding domain and 15 tandem repeated C₂H₂ type zinc fingers. Northern blot analysis indicates that a 2.7 kb transcript specific for ZNF325 is widely expressed in all tissues examined at adult stage and in most of the embryonic tissues. Overexpression of ZNF325 in COS-7 cells inhibits the transcriptional activities of AP-1 and SRE. The deletion and RNAi analysis indicate that the C₂H₂ zinc finger motifs represent the basal transcriptional repressive activity. These results indicate that the ZNF325 protein may act as a novel transcription repressor in MAPK signaling pathway to mediate cellular functions.