Zinc finger protein 420 (ZNF420)

Zinc finger protein 420 (ZNF420), also known as Apak (ATM and p53-associated KZNF protein), is a KRAB-type zinc finger transcription factor characterized by 19 C2H2 zinc finger motifs at its C-terminus. ZNF420 acts as a transcriptional repressor that negatively regulates p53-mediated apoptosis by binding either directly to p53 or by binding to specific DNA sequences overlapping p53 binding sites, thereby repressing transcription of proapoptotic genes such as p53AIP1. Upon cellular stress and DNA damage, phosphorylation by ATM kinase leads to ZNF420 dissociation from p53 and chromatin, enabling full p53 activity and apoptosis induction. ZNF420 belongs to the KRAB-containing zinc finger protein superfamily, the largest group of transcriptional regulators in the human genome, and is broadly involved in gene regulatory networks relevant to cancer biology, but it is not a direct pharmacological target at present.

Other names

ZNF420ApakATM and p53-associated KZNF proteinFLJ32191