No abstract

We have recently identified by cDNA cloning a set of genes that are rapidly activated in mouse 3T3 cells by serum or purified growth factors. Here we report that the cDNA (clone 268) derived from one of these immediate early genes (zif/268) encodes a protein with three tandem "zinc finger" sequences typical of a class of eukaryotic transcription factors. The mRNA of zif/268 is present in many organs and tissues of the mouse and is especially abundant in the brain and thymus tissue. The 5' genomic flanking sequence ofzif/268 has sequences related to binding sites for known regulatory proteins, including four sequences that resemble the core of the serum response elements (SREs) upstream ofthe c-fos and actin genes. The SRE-like sequences could be responsible for the coordinate activation ofzif/268 andfos after serum stimulation of 3T3 cells.

Zif268, a zinc finger protein whose mRNA is rapidly activated in cells exposed to growth factors or other signaling agents, is thought to play a role in regulating the genetic program induced by extracellular ligands. We report that Zif268 has one of the characteristics of a transcriptional regulator, namely, sequence-specific binding to DNA. Zif268 synthesized in Escherichia coli bound to two sites upstream of the zif268 gene and to sites in the promoter regions of other genes. The nucleotide sequences responsible for binding were defined by DNase I footprinting, by methylation interference experiments, and by use of synthetic oligonucleotides. From these results we derived the following consensus sequence for a G Zi268 high-affinity binding site: GCGTGGGCG.