Zfp277, also known as Zinc finger protein 277, is a transcription factor. It is involved in regulating cellular senescence and plays a role in the β -catenin signaling pathway. Its expression pattern in normal and cancerous tissues indicates its importance in intestinal homeostasis and neoplasia. Genetic models, such as mouse models, are valuable for studying its function [1,2,3].

In ApcMin/+ mice with dysregulated β -catenin signaling, Zfp277 is overexpressed in the colon. Zfp277 deficiency in these mice attenuated intestinal epithelial cell proliferation and tumor formation, and prolonged their survival. This shows that Zfp277 is a colon cancer oncogene that regulates cellular proliferation and senescence, in part by repressing p21WAF1 expression. In mouse embryonic fibroblasts, loss of Zfp277 caused dissociation of polycomb group (PcG) proteins from the Ink4a/Arf locus, leading to premature senescence [1,2].

In conclusion, Zfp277 is a crucial regulator in cellular processes, especially in intestinal epithelial cell proliferation, tumor formation, and cellular senescence. Studies using gene knockout mouse models have revealed its role as an oncogene in colon cancer, contributing to our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying colon cancer development.

References:

1. Xie, Guofeng, Peng, Zhongsheng, Liang, Jinqing, Yfantis, Harris, Raufman, Jean-Pierre. 2022. Zinc finger protein 277 is an intestinal transit-amplifying cell marker and colon cancer oncogene. In JCI insight, 7, . doi:10.1172/jci.insight.150894. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35015732/

2. Negishi, Masamitsu, Saraya, Atsunori, Mochizuki, Shinobu, Koseki, Haruhiko, Iwama, Atsushi. 2010. A novel zinc finger protein Zfp277 mediates transcriptional repression of the Ink4a/arf locus through polycomb repressive complex 1. In PloS one, 5, e12373. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0012373. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20808772/

3. Cheng, Kunrong, Xie, Guofeng, Khurana, Sandeep, Shah, Nirish, Raufman, Jean-Pierre. 2014. Divergent effects of muscarinic receptor subtype gene ablation on murine colon tumorigenesis reveals association of M3R and zinc finger protein 277 expression in colon neoplasia. In Molecular cancer, 13, 77. doi:10.1186/1476-4598-13-77. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24694019/