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REVIEW

Zinc finger protein 521 (ZNF521/Zfp521): Insights into its structure, function, regulation, and significance to cell differentiation

Jiali Li1,2† ,  Yanbing Pan1,2† ,  Mengjie Tu1,2 ,  Jiayang Han1,2 ,  Binbin Zhao1,2 ,  Jialin Wu1,2 ,  Guangchao Liu1,2 ,  Kaifeng Zhang1,2 ,  Man Yue1,2 ,  Mengwen Hou1,2 ,  Tiantian Sun1,2 ,  Xu Han1,2 ,  Kangxu Chen1,2 ,  Yang An1,2*
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1 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, Henan, China
2 Kaifeng Key Laboratory of Cell Signal Transduction, Henan Provincial Engineering Center for Tumor Molecular Medicine, Henan University, Kaifeng, Henan, China
GPD 2024, 3(3), 3260 https://doi.org/10.36922/gpd.3260
Submitted: 25 March 2024 | Accepted: 8 May 2024 | Published: 2 July 2024
© 2024 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
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Abstract

The zinc finger protein 521 (ZNF521) gene is located on human chromosome 18, specifically in the 18q11.2 region. As a zinc finger DNA-binding protein, ZNF521/Zfp521 acts as a transcription cofactor involved in the regulation of cell differentiation across various cell types, including hematopoietic, neural, and mesenchyme stem cells, B progenitor cells, preadipocytes, and osteoblasts. Its interactions with key proteins such as RUNX2, EBF1, SIAH2, or BMP2 further modulate these processes. In this review, we briefly summarize the current understanding of ZNF521/Zfp521, encompassing its structural, functional, post-translational modification, and cellular signaling pathways, especially its roles in cell differentiation and related diseases. In addition, we explore the process and effects of the interaction between Zfp521 and other proteins and discuss the molecular mechanisms of its roles in adipogenic, osteogenic, chondrogenic, and neural differentiation.

Keywords
ZNF521
Zfp521
Cell differentiation
Post-translational modification
Funding
This work was supported by the Program for Science and Technology Development in Henan Province (No. 242102311227) and the Innovation Project for College Students of Henan University (No. 20237003002, 20237003003, and 202310475091).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
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