Abstract
Zfp238 is a C(2)H(2) type zinc finger protein, containing POZ domain at N-terminal and zinc finger domain (ZFD) at C-terminal. RP58 mRNA expression is detected at embryonic day (E) 10 in the neuroepithelium, and subsequently in the ventricular zones of the cerebral cortex in the E12 embryo. Strong expression is observed in the preplate in the cerebral cortex from this stage onward. High levels of expression continued to be detected in the cortical plate and subventricular zone of the neocortex, hippocampus, and parts of the amygdala, but not in the thalamus or striatum. The expression is also observed in the adult mouse neocortex, hippocampus, parts of the amygdala, and granule cells in the cerebellum. Double in situ hybridization using GAD67 or VGLUT1 probes reveal that Zfp238 is expressed in glutamatergic excitatory neurons. To characterize the Zfp238 protein, we made rabbit polyclonal antibody against the sequence of RP58 without POZ and ZFD, which could recognize this protein specifically, but not isotype and truncated type. Zfp238 was ubiquitously expressed in various tissues including nervous system: pancreas, heart, testis and lung etc. Western blotting analysis using the embryonic and adult brain lysate showed that the detected bands were higher than the predicted size of this protein. The results suggest that Zfp238 is modified in some ways, and we are analyzing its mechanism and biological roles. [J Physiol Sci. 2008;58 Suppl:S113]
