Stem cells (SC) exhibit a unique capacity for self-renewal in an undifferentiated state. It is unclear whether the self-renewal of pluripotent embryonic SC (ESC) and of tissue-specific adult SC such as hematopoietic SC (HSC) is controlled by common mechanisms. The deletion of transcription factor Zfx impaired the self-renewal but not the differentiation capacity of murine ESC; conversely, Zfx o...

The Zfy gene is located on the Y chromosome of placental mammals and encodes a zinc finger protein which may serve as the primary sex-determining signal. A related gene, Zfx, is similarly conserved on the X chromosome. Unlike that in most mammals, the mouse genome contains four homologous zinc finger loci: Zfy-1, Zfy-2, Zfx, and Zfa (on an autosome). We report that, in contrast to the mouse Zfy...

The ZFX gene on the human X chromosome is structurally similar to the ZFY gene, which may constitute the sex-determining signal on the human Y chromosome. ZFY and ZFX diverged from a common ancestral gene, as evidenced by similarities in their intron/exon organization and exon DNA sequences. The carboxy-terminal exons of ZFY and ZFX both encode 13 zinc fingers; 383 of 393 amino acid residues ar...

BACKGROUND Zfx is a zinc finger protein of the Zfy family, whose members are highly conserved in vertebrates. Zfx is a shared transcriptional regulator of both embryonic stem cells (ESC) and hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), which suggests a common genetic basis of self-renewal in embryonic and adult stem cells. The level of Zfx expression correlates with aggressiveness and severity in many cance...

Tumor-propagating cells in acute leukemia maintain a stem/progenitor-like immature phenotype and proliferative capacity. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and acute T-lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) originate from different lineages through distinct oncogenic events such as MLL fusions and Notch signaling, respectively. We found that Zfx, a transcription factor that controls hematopoietic stem cell s...

Zinc-finger protein X-linked (ZFX), a novel transcription factor required for self-renewal of embryonic stem cells, has recently been implicated in the initiation and progression of various human malignancies. However, its clinical significance in cancer patients remains largely inconclusive and its role in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) has never been reported. In this study, quantitative real...

ZFX (zinc finger transcription factor, X chromosome-linked) contributes to the maintenance of different types of stem cells and the progression of various cancers. We have previously reported that ZFX knockdown inhibits proliferation of glioma in vitro and in vivo. Since overexpression of ZFX in lung cancer tissue correlates with lymph node metastasis, we hypothesized that ZFX may play a role i...

The human ZFX, human ZFY, and mouse Zfx genes have CpG islands near their 5; ends. These islands are typical in that they span about 1.5 kb, contain transcription initiation sites, and encompass some 5' untranslated exons and introns. However, comparitive nucleotide sequencing of these human and mouse islands provided evidence of evolutionary conservation to a degree unprecedented among mammali...

SET (SE Translocation) protein carries out multiple functions including those for protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) inhibition, histone modification, DNA repair, and gene regulation. SET overexpression has been detected in brain neurons of patients suffering Alzheimer's disease, follicle theca cells of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) patients, and ovarian cancer cells, indicating that SET may play...