Download MendeleyZincore, an atypical coregulator, binds zinc finger transcription factors to control gene expression.
Bianchi, D., Borza, R., De Zan, E., Huelsz-Prince, G., Gregoricchio, S., Dekker, M., Fish, A., Mazouzi, A., Kroese, L.J., Linder, S., Hernandez-Quiles, M., Vermeulen, M., Celie, P.H.N., Krimpenfort, P., Song, J.Y., Zwart, W., Wessels, L., Nijman, S.M.B., Perrakis, A., Brummelkamp, T.R.(2025) Science 389: eadv2861-eadv2861
- PubMed: 40608935
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adv2861
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:
9HJT, 9HJU - PubMed Abstract:
Zinc finger proteins (ZNFs) are the largest family of transcription factors, yet how they activate gene expression remains unclear. In this study, we identified Zincore, a protein complex consisting of QRICH1 and SEPHS1, as a ZNF-specific coregulator essential for embryonic development in mice and associated with developmental syndromes in humans. We also identified ZFP91 as a representative Zincore client, binding the conserved promoter motif CTTTAAR. Cryo-electron microscopy of a Zincore-ZFP91-DNA complex revealed a SEPHS1 arginine clamp to recognize the DNA-bound zinc finger domains. This mode of binding explains recognition of different ZNFs and stabilizes ZFP91 onto its cognate DNA motif. Thus, our study identified Zincore as a ZNF-specific coregulator essential for development, involving a distinctive mechanism that locks ZNFs onto DNA and regulates transcription.
- Oncode Institute, Utrecht, Netherlands.
Organizational Affiliation:
