ZNF638/NP220同源蛋白及其生物学作用的研究进展

Research Progress Revealing the Biological Significance of ZNF638/NP220 and Homologous Proteins

一些具有锌指结构域的蛋白质可以识别特定的靶RNA分子并与之结合,在细胞中参与或介导重要的生物学作用,这一发现拓展了人们对锌指蛋白专职转录调控并且高度依赖于特异结合靶DNA序列的认知。ZNF638/NP220及其同源蛋白Matrin3和RBM20是一类在生物进化中相当保守的特殊锌指蛋白,定位于细胞核基质的核斑中,含有特殊的蛋白结构域,可以特定靶向RNA分子,在细胞的转录调控和RNA加工的不同阶段发挥作用,特别是RNA转录和剪接事件的偶联以及改变RNA分子的成熟和稳定性等方面。本文将对近年来有关ZNF638同源蛋白成员的发现、结构、分子机制及其在细胞分化、胚胎发育、病毒的感染等生命过程中调控作用的研究进展进行总结讨论。

Some zinc finger proteins can recognize and bind to specific target RNA molecules,and participate in or mediate important biological functions in cells.This discovery expanded people's understanding of dedicated transcriptional regulation of zinc finger proteins which highly depends on specific binding to target DNA sequences.ZNF638/NP220 and its homologous proteins Matrin3 and RBM20 form a class of special zinc finger proteins that are quite conservative in biological evolution.They are located in the nuclear plaques of the nuclear matrix,containing both zinc finger motifs that recognize DNA and conserved RNA-binding domains specifically targeting RNA molecules.Such properties imply special roles in the different stages of cell transcriptional regulation and RNA processing,especially in the coupling of RNA transcription and splicing events,as well as in changing the maturity and stability of RNA molecules.This article summarized the advances in recent studies with regards to genetic discoveries,structural analyses,molecular mechanisms and biological functions of ZNF638 and its homologs,and their potential influences on cell differentiation,embryonic development,virus infection and other life processes.