A novel transcriptional factor ZP140 as an autoantigen reactive with sera from patient with Sjogren's syndrome

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Autoantibodies found in patients with a variety of autoimmune diseases provide valuable tools not only to clarify disease mechanisms but also to identify and characterize structure and function of target antigens. By using sera from patients with Sjogren's syndrome as a probe, we isolated cDNA encoding a novel protein from human testing cDNA library. Sequence analysis revealed that the protein, designated ZP140, had putative several functional motifs including signal for nuclear localization, Knuppel type Zn finger, PHD domain, prolin-rich domain, and seven SH3-binding domains. These structural characteristics strongly suggest that ZP140 is a novel transcriptional factor. The autoantibody reactive with ZP140 is specific for Sjogren's syndrome. Thus, further characterization of ZP140 may lead to understanding of pathogenesis of this systemic autoimmune disease.