Oates A C, Pratt S J, Vail B, Ho R K, Johnson S L, Postlethwait J H, Zon L I
Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Melbourne Tumour Biology Branch, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Victoria, Australia.
Blood. 2001 Sep 15;98(6):1792-801. doi: 10.1182/blood.v98.6.1792.
The Krüppel-like factor (KLF) family of genes encodes transcriptional regulatory proteins that play roles in differentiation of a diverse set of cells in mammals. For instance, the founding member KLF1 (also known as EKLF) is required for normal globin production in mammals. Five new KLF genes have been isolated from the zebrafish, Danio rerio, and the structure of their products, their genetic map positions, and their expression during development of the zebrafish have been characterized. Three genes closely related to mammalian KLF2 and KLF4 were found, as was an ortholog of mammalian KLF12. A fifth gene, apparently missing from the genome of mammals and closely related to KLF1 and KLF2, was also identified. Analysis demonstrated the existence of novel conserved domains in the N-termini of these proteins. Developmental expression patterns suggest potential roles for these zebrafish genes in diverse processes, including hematopoiesis, blood vessel function, and fin and epidermal development. The studies imply a high degree of functional conservation of the zebrafish genes with their mammalian homologs. These findings further the understanding of the KLF genes in vertebrate development and indicate an ancient role in hematopoiesis for the Krüppel-like factor gene family.
Krüppel样因子（KLF）基因家族编码转录调节蛋白，这些蛋白在哺乳动物多种细胞的分化过程中发挥作用。例如，该家族的创始成员KLF1（也称为EKLF）是哺乳动物正常生成珠蛋白所必需的。已经从斑马鱼（Danio rerio）中分离出五个新的KLF基因，并对其产物的结构、遗传图谱位置以及它们在斑马鱼发育过程中的表达进行了表征。发现了三个与哺乳动物KLF2和KLF4密切相关的基因，以及哺乳动物KLF12的一个直系同源基因。还鉴定出了第五个基因，该基因在哺乳动物基因组中显然缺失，且与KLF1和KLF2密切相关。分析表明这些蛋白质的N末端存在新的保守结构域。发育表达模式表明这些斑马鱼基因在包括造血、血管功能以及鳍和表皮发育等多种过程中可能发挥作用。这些研究表明斑马鱼基因与其哺乳动物同源基因具有高度的功能保守性。这些发现进一步加深了对脊椎动物发育中KLF基因的理解，并表明Krüppel样因子基因家族在造血过程中具有古老的作用。
