Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 12, 2026

Genome Editing with CompoZr Custom Zinc Finger Nucleases (ZFNs)
Published on: June 14, 2012
Targeted regulation of imprinted genes by synthetic zinc-finger transcription factors
Y Jouvenot1, V Ginjala, L Zhang
1Sangamo BioSciences, Inc., Point Richmond Tech Center, Richmond, CA 94804, USA.
Abstract:
Epigenetic control of transcription is essential for mammalian development and its deregulation causes human disease. For example, loss of proper imprinting control at the IGF2-H19 domain is a hallmark of cancer and Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, with no targeted therapeutic approaches available. To address this deficiency, we engineered zinc-finger transcription proteins (ZFPs) that specifically activate or repress the IGF2 and H19 genes in a domain-dependent manner. Importantly, we used these ZFPs successfully to reactivate the transcriptionally silent IGF2 and H19 alleles, thus overriding the natural mechanism of imprinting and validating an entirely novel avenue for 'transcription therapy' of human disease.
Related Concept Videos
Epigenetic Regulation
Eukaryotic Transcription Inhibitors
Eukaryotic transcription inhibitors usually contain two distinct domains, a DNA...
Combinatorial Gene Control
The expression of more than 30,000 genes is controlled by approximately 2000-3000 transcription factors. This is possible because a single transcription factor can recognize more than one regulatory sequence. The specificity in gene...
Master Transcription Regulators
Genomic Imprinting and Inheritance
The expression of some genes depends on which parent passed the gene to the offspring, through a phenomenon known as...
Epigenetic Regulation
X-chromosome...

