A novel human gene expressed in heart

KRAB/C₂H₂-type zinc finger protein is a transcription factor with important function. We cloned a novel human KRAB/C₂ H₂-type zinc finger gene and named ZNF382 as approved by HUGO nomenclature committee. The full length of ZNF382 is 2 824 bp with 5 exons and 4 introns, which spans approximately 23 kb long in genomics. It encodes 548 amino acids containing a KRAB domain at the NH₂ terminus and a vestigial zinc finger (VZF) and 9 tandemly repeated Kruppel-type C₂ H₂ zinc finger domains (ZF) at the COOH terminus. Northern blot analysis indicates that a 2.9 kb transcript specific for ZNF382 is expressed at very early embryonic stage of human (at least earlier than gestation 34 day). ZNF382 is widely expressed in human embryo tissues, including brain, kidney, lung, heart, skeletal muscle, and adrenal. At the adult stage, ZNF382 expression is restricted largely to heart tissue suggesting a potential role in heart development and function.