The zinc finger transcriptional regulatory factors constitute a family of early response genes. The recent cloning and characterization of four of the genes in this family by this laboratory has stimulated an investigation of the role of these factors in the malignant phenotype. Presumably, the dysregulation of factors critical to cellular proliferation such as the zinc finger transcriptional factors could lead to unbridled malignant proliferation. Recent investigations from this laboratory have demonstrated that these early response genes are expressed in a constitutive fashion in T-cells transfected with either of the human retroviruses HTLV-1 or HTLV-2. Also of interest are preliminary studies that have demonstrated that the 225 zinc finger gene as well as other members of this gene family are also constitutively expressed in a variety of human malignant cell lines and tissues. More recent investigations utilizing antisera against the four members of the zinc finger family have demonstrated that not only is the gene expressed at the level of RNA but protein levels are also elevated in a host of human malignant cell lines including small cell and non-small cell lung cancers and sarcomas. The role of this constitutive expression in human malignant cells either in the pathogenic process or as a potential therapeutic target are the topic of ongoing and future investigations.
