Organization of the mouse Zfhx1b gene encoding the two-handed zinc finger repressor Smad-interacting protein-1
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Updated: Sep 13, 2026

Separation of Mouse Embryonic Facial Ectoderm and Mesenchyme
Published on: April 12, 2013
Luc Nelles1, Tom Van de Putte, Leo van Grunsven
1Department of Developmental Biology (VIB7), Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB), University of Leuven, B-3000 Louvain, Belgium. luc.nelles@med.kuleuven.ac.be
Abstract:
SIP1, a member of the deltaEF1 family of two-handed zinc finger transcriptional repressors, has been identified as a Smad-binding protein. Recently, mutations in the human SIP1 gene (ZFHX1B) have been implicated in Hirschsprung disease. Here we document extensively the structure and transcriptional pattern of the mouse SIP1 gene (Zfhx1b) and compare it to homologues from other species. The overall structure of Zfhx1b is highly similar to that of the deltaEF1 gene (Zfhx1a), confirming their close evolutionary relationship. In contrast to Zfhx1a, the 5' untranslated region of the SIP1-encoding mouse gene is very complex and includes several alternative exons. The corresponding 5'-UTR splicing pattern seems to be conserved between species and suggests a role in its transcriptional and/or translational regulation. The gene also codes for an antisense transcript that is highly conserved between human and mouse.
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