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Mol Cell Biol, July 1998, p. 4235-4244, Vol. 18, No. 7
0270-7306/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

BAZF, a Novel Bcl6 Homolog, Functions as a Transcriptional Repressor

Shinichiro Okabe,1 2 Tetsuya Fukuda,1 3 Kazuki Ishibashi,1 Satoko Kojima,1 Seiji Okada,1 Masahiko Hatano,1 Masaaki Ebara,2 Hiromitsu Saisho,2 and Takeshi Tokuhisa1 *

Division of Developmental Genetics, Center for Biomedical Science,1 and First Department of Internal Medicine,2 Chiba University School of Medicine, Chuo-ku, Chiba 260-8670, and First Department of Internal Medicine, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0034,3 Japan

Received 17 December 1997/Returned for modification 23 January 1998/Accepted 3 April 1998

The BCL6 gene, which has been identified from the chromosomal translocation breakpoint in B-cell lymphomas, functions as a sequence-specific transcriptional repressor. We cloned a novel Bcl6-homologous gene, BAZF (encoding Bcl6-associated zinc finger protein). The predicted amino acid sequence of BAZF indicated that the BTB/POZ domain and the five repeats of the Krüppel-like zinc finger motif are located in the NH2-terminal region and the COOH-terminal region, respectively. BAZF associated with Bcl6 at the BTB/POZ domain and localized in the nucleus. Since zinc finger motifs of BAZF were 94% identical to those of Bcl6 at the amino acid level, BAZF bound specifically to the DNA-binding sequence of Bcl6 and functioned as a transcriptional repressor. The repressor activity was associated with both the BTB/POZ domain and the middle portion of BAZF. The 17-amino-acid sequence in the middle portion was completely conserved between BAZF and Bcl6, and the conserved region was critical for the repressor activity. Expression of BAZF mRNA, like that of Bcl6 mRNA, was induced in activated lymphocytes as an immediate-early gene. Therefore, the biochemical character of BAZF is similar to that of Bcl6 although the tissue expression pattern of BAZF differs from that of Bcl6. This is apparently the first report of a gene family whose members encode zinc finger proteins with the BTB/POZ domain.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Division of Developmental Genetics, Center for Biomedical Science, Chiba University School of Medicine, 1-8-1 Inohana, Chuo-ku, Chiba 260-8670, Japan. Phone: 81-43-226-2181. Fax: 81-43-226-2183. E-mail: tokuhisa{at}med.m.chiba-u.ac.jp.

Mol Cell Biol, July 1998, p. 4235-4244, Vol. 18, No. 7
0270-7306/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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