Zinc finger BED domain-containing protein 2 (ZBED2)

Zinc finger BED domain-containing protein 2 (ZBED2) is a DNA-binding transcriptional repressor protein belonging to the zinc finger BED-type family, characterized by the presence of a BED-type zinc finger domain. This protein exhibits sequence-specific DNA binding that enables intrinsic repressor activity, particularly through competition with the transcriptional activator IRF1 at promoters containing the 5'-[CA]GAA[AC]C[CT]-3' consensus motif. ZBED2 negatively regulates transcription by RNA polymerase II and has a documented role in promoting keratinocyte differentiation. In a disease context, ZBED2 is aberrantly and preferentially expressed in the squamous molecular subtype of human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA), where it acts to antagonize interferon regulatory factor 1 (IRF1) and suppress the interferon response pathway. This suppression leads to increased lineage plasticity, tumor cell motility, and invasion, contributing to more aggressive tumor phenotypes and poorer outcomes in PDA patients. There are currently no known drugs that directly target or interact with ZBED2, and its value as a direct therapeutic target has not been established. However, high ZBED2 expression can serve as a biomarker for PDA aggressiveness and may inform prognosis and tumor subtype assignment.

Other names

ZBED2zinc finger BED-type containing 2MGC10796zinc finger, BED domain containing 2