• 생명과학회지
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• 제33권11호
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• pp.956-965
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• 2023

CCCH zinc finger 단백질은 세 개의 시스테인(cysteine, C) 아미노산과 한 개의 히스티딘(histidine, H) 아미노산으로 구성된 아연이온(Zn⁺)에 결합하는 손가락 구조의 zinc finger 모티프를 가졌으며, 식물에는 많은 수의 CCCH zinc finger 단백질 유전자가 존재한다. CCCH zinc finger 단백질은 2개의 CCCH zinc finger 모티프를 가지는 TZF와 그 외 나머지인 non-TZF로 구분이 되지만 지금까지의 CCCH zinc finger 단백질의 기능에 대한 연구는 주로 TZF, 특히 식물 특이적으로 존재하는 RR-TZF를 중심으로 이루어져 왔다. 그러나 최근 들어 non-TZF 유전자에 대한 연구도 활발히 진행되고 있다. Non-TZF는 생물 스트레스와 고염, 건조, 저온, 고온, 산화 스트레스 등 다양한 환경 스트레스 반응에 관여하는 것으로 알려졌다. Non-TZF는 다양한 방식으로 하위 유전자를 조절하여 식물의 스트레스 반응에 관여하는데, 세포질에 위치하며 RNA에 결합하여 RNA의 안정성을 조절하고 전사 후 단계에서 하위 유전자를 조절하거나 핵에 위치하고 전사 활성화 또는 전사 억제를 통해 전사인자로서 기능을 하기도 한다. 그러나 이러한 연구에도 불구하고 non-TZF를 통한 스트레스 신호전달 경로 및 상위 유전자, 하위 유전자는 거의 알려져 있지 않다. 따라서 CCCH zinc finger 유전자에 대한 이해를 넓히기 위해서는 TZF뿐만 아니라 non-TZF 유전자의 스트레스 반응에 관한 지속적이고도 집중적인 연구가 필요하다. 본 총설 논문에서는 지금까지 스트레스 반응 조절에 관여하는 것으로 밝혀진 non-TZF 유전자들과 그 유전자들의 분자적 기능을 서술하였다.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제21권3호
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• pp.376-380
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• 2006

Gene expression is regulated in large part at the level of transcription under the control of sequence-specific transcriptional regulatory proteins. Therefore, the ability to affect gene expression at will using sequencespecific artificial transcription factors would provide researchers with a powerful tool for biotechnology research and drug discovery. Previously, we isolated 56 novel sequence-specific DNA-binding domains from the human genome by in vivo selection. We hypothesized that these domains might be more useful for regulating gene expression in higher eukaryotic cells than those selected in vitro using phage display. However, an unpredictable factor, termed the "context effect", is associated with the construction of novel zinc finger transcription factors--- DNA-binding proteins that bind specifically to 9-base pair target sequences. In this study, we directly selected active artificial zinc finger proteins from a zinc finger protein library. Direct in vivo selection of constituents of a zinc finger protein library may be an efficient method for isolating multi-finger DNA binding proteins while avoiding the context effect.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제26권12호
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• pp.2019-2029
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• 2016

Zinc finger proteins are among the most extensively applied metalloproteins in the field of biotechnology owing to their unique structural and functional aspects as transcriptional and translational regulators. The classical zinc fingers are the largest family of zinc proteins and they provide critical roles in physiological systems from prokaryotes to eukaryotes. Two cysteine and two histidine residues ($Cys_2His_2$) coordinate to the zinc ion for the structural functions to generate a ${\beta}{\beta}{\alpha}$ fold, and this secondary structure supports specific interactions with their binding partners, including DNA, RNA, lipids, proteins, and small molecules. In this account, the structural similarity and differences of well-known $Cys_2His_2$-type zinc fingers such as zinc interaction factor 268 (ZIF268), transcription factor IIIA (TFIIIA), GAGA, and Ros will be explained. These proteins perform their specific roles in species from archaea to eukaryotes and they show significant structural similarity; however, their aligned amino acids present low sequence homology. These zinc finger proteins have different numbers of domains for their structural roles to maintain biological progress through transcriptional regulations from exogenous stresses. The superimposed structures of these finger domains provide interesting details when these fingers are applied to specific gene binding and editing. The structural information in this study will aid in the selection of unique types of zinc finger applications in vivo and in vitro approaches, because biophysical backgrounds including complex structures and binding affinities aid in the protein design area.

• 한국생물물리학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국생물물리학회 1998년도 학술발표회
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• pp.11-11
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• 1998

Zinc fingers of Cys$_2$His$_2$ class constitute one of the most common DNA binding motifs in eukaryotes. Unlike other DNA binding motifs, zinc finger proteins recognize very diverse DNA sites, and their sequence specificities can be systematically changed by phage display.(omitted)

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• 제35권7호
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• pp.2197-2200
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• 2014

• 한국작물학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국작물학회 2017년도 9th Asian Crop Science Association conference
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• pp.115-115
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• 2017

Zinc finger proteins constitute a large family which has been studied to have various functions in different organisms. Tandem CCCH zinc finger proteins (TZFs), members of the zinc finger protein family, are known to participate as post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression in eukaryotes. Here, we showed that the OsZn15, a gene for tandem CCCH zinc finger protein, is induced by abiotic stress and its overexpression in transgenic rice plants (PGD1:OsZn15) gains higher drought tolerance. Gene expression analysis of promoter:GFP plants revealed that OsZn15 is specifically expressed in anther and embryo, but not in vegetative organs. In-field evaluation, grain yield was higher in the PGD1:OsZn15 than nontransgenic plants under drought conditions. Interestingly, OsZn15 is shown to not only localize at nucleus but also co-localize with both processing bodies (PB) and stress granules (SG), two messenger ribo-nucleoprotein complexes which are known to activate by forming cytoplasmic foci under stress conditions. In sum, these results suggest that OsZn15 increases drought stress tolerance of rice probably by participating in RNA turnover in PB and SG.

• 대한의생명과학회지
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• 제10권4호
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• pp.407-413
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• 2004

Heterotrimeric GTP binding proteins (G proteins) transduce signals of a variety of hormones and neurotransmitters. Go is one of the most abundant G proteins in the brain and classified as the Gi/Go family due to their sequence homology to Gi proteins. While the Gi proteins inhibit adenylyl cyclase and decrease the intracellular cAMP concentration, the functions of Go is not clearly understood despite their sequence homology to Gi. The promeylocytic leukemia zinc finger protein (PLZF) is a DNA binding transcription factor and is expressed highly in central nervous system (CNS). Several studies reported that PLZF may be involved in regulation segmentation/differentiation during CNS development. Here, I report that the alpha subunit of Go (Go ) interacts with PLZF. The interaction between Goa and PLZF was verified by using GST pulldown assay and co-immunoprecipitation. Our findings indicate that Goa could modulate gene expression via interaction with PLZF during neuronal or brain development.

• BMB Reports
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• 제40권4호
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• pp.517-524
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• 2007

There were many different families of zinc finger proteins that contained multiple cysteine and/or histidine residues and used zinc to stabilize their folds. The classical C2H2 zinc finger proteins were the founding members of this superfamily and were among the most abundant proteins in eukaryotic genomes. C2H2 proteins typically contained several C2H2 fingers that made tandem contacts along the DNA. Here we reported a novel C2H2 type zinc finger gene, ZNF438, which encoded 828 amino acids that formed five zinc finger domains. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that the ZNF438 was mapped to human chromosome 10p11.2 and shared 62% identity with rat and mouse homologues. RT-PCR analysis indicated that it was ubiquitously expressed in 18 human adult tissues. With immunofluorescence assay, it was shown that the exogenous Flag-tagged ZNF438 was located in nucleus of COS-7 cells. To further explore the function of ZNF438, we examined the transcriptional activity of ZNF438 protein by transfecting recombinant pM-ZNF438 into mammalian cells. The subsequent analysis based on the duel luciferase assay system showed that ZNF438 was a transcriptional repressor.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제17권1호
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• pp.12-16
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• 2009

One of the WHSC1/MMSET/NSD2 variant RE-IIBP is a histone H3-K27 methyltransferase with transcriptional repression activity. Overexpression of RE-IIBP in various types of leukemia suggests it's role in leukemogenesis. Here we identify two proteins, KRAB zinc finger protein ZNF 350 and enolase-1 as RE-IIBP interacting proteins by yeast two-hybrid screening and confirmed direct interaction in vivo and in vitro. Both proteins have been known for their role in transcriptional repression. Reporter assays using transient transfection demonstrated that both ZNF 350 and enolase-1 proteins synergistically repressed transcription with RE-IIBP, respectively. These results indicate both proteins have roles in RE-IIBP mediated transcriptional repression by involving co-repressor complex.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제31권9호
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• pp.1323-1329
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• 2021

Micro-scale magnetic beads are widely used for isolation of proteins, DNA, and cells, leading to the development of in vitro diagnostics. Efficient isolation of target biomolecules is one of the keys to developing a simple and rapid point-of-care diagnostic. A zinc finger protein (ZFP) is a double-stranded (ds) DNA-binding domain, providing a useful scaffold for direct reading of the sequence information. Here, we utilized two engineered ZFPs (Stx2-268 and SEB-435) to detect the Shiga toxin (stx2) gene and the staphylococcal enterotoxin B (seb) gene present in foodborne pathogens, Escherichia coli O157 and Staphylococcus aureus, respectively. Engineered ZFPs are immobilized on a paramagnetic bead as a detection platform to efficiently isolate the target dsDNA-ZFP bound complex. The small paramagnetic beads provide a high surface area to volume ratio, allowing more ZFPs to be immobilized on the beads, which leads to increased target DNA detection. The fluorescence signal was measured upon ZFP binding to fluorophore-labeled target dsDNA. In this study, our system provided a detection limit of ≤ 60 fmol and demonstrated high specificity with multiplexing capability, suggesting a potential for development into a simple and reliable diagnostic for detecting multiple pathogens without target amplification.