A mouse cDNA encoding a protein with zinc-fingers and a KRAB domain shows similarity to human profilaggrin

As part of our efforts to understand transcriptional regulation in the vertebrate eye lens, we have isolated a clone that encodes a zinc finger (Zf) protein from a newborn mouse lens cDNA library. Corresponding message for this protein is detectable in the lens, liver, heart, kidney, spleen and brain of newborn mice. A longer cDNA containing the complete ORF for the same protein was isolated from an adult mouse testis library. A conceptual translation of the testis cDNA sequence produces a 555-amino-acid (aa) protein that contains nine C-terminal Zf and an N-terminal domain found in a subset of C2H2 Zf, the Krüppel-associated box (KRAB). The aa sequence located between the KRAB domain and the Zf shows an unexpected similarity to human profilaggrin, a protein expressed in differentiating epidermal cells. Sequences that hybridize to this cDNA are detectable in ten other mammalian species.