Zinc Finger Protein 418 (ZNF418)

ZNF418 spans 13.5 kb on chromosome 19q13.43 encompassing six exons, and transcribes a 3.7-kb mRNA that encodes a protein with 676 amino acid residues. The predicted protein contains a KRAB-A box and 17 tandem C2H2 type zinc finger motifs. Northern blot analysis indicates that ZNF418 is expressed in multiple fetal and adult tissues, but is expressed at higher levels in the heart. Reporter gene assays show that ZNF418 is a transcriptional repressor, and the KRAB motif of ZNF418 represents the basal repressive domain. Overexpression of ZNF418 in COS-7 cells inhibits the transcriptional activity of SRE and AP-1 which may be silenced by siRNA. These results suggest that ZNF418 is a member of the zincfinger transcription factor family and may act as a negative regulator in MAPK signaling pathway.