Zinc Finger Protein 423 (ZNF423)

ZNF423 is a nuclear protein that belongs to the family of Kruppel-like C2H2 zinc finger proteins. It functions as a DNA-binding transcription factor by using distinct zinc fingers in different signaling pathways. Thus, it is thought that this gene may have multiple roles in signal transduction during development.

Human OAZ is predicted to be a 1,224-amino acid protein containing a BMP-signaling module formed by 2 clusters of fingers that bind SMADs and the Xvent-2 BMP response element, respectively. Previously implicated as a transcriptional partner of OLF1/EBF in olfactory epithelium and lymphocyte development in the rat, OAZ fulfills this role in transcription through clusters of fingers that are separate from the BMP-signaling module.