A large protein containing zinc finger domains binds to related sequence elements in the enhancers of the class I major histocompatibility complex and kappa immunoglobulin genes.

A cDNA from a B-cell library was previously isolated that encodes a sequence-specific DNA-binding protein with affinities for related sites in a class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and kappa immunoglobulin gene enhancers. We report here approximately 6.5 kilobases of sequence of the MBP-1 (MHC enhancer binding protein 1) cDNA. MBP-1 protein has a molecular weight predicted to be greater than 200,000. A DNA-binding domain with high affinity for the MHC enhancer sequence TGGGGATTCCCCA was localized to an 118-amino-acid protein fragment containing two zinc fingers of the class Cys2-X12-His2. Analysis of expression of MBP-1 mRNA revealed relatively high expression in HeLa cells and in a human retinal cell line, with lower levels in Jurkat T cells and in two B-cell lines. Interestingly, expression of MBP-1 mRNA was inducible by mitogen and phorbol ester treatment of Jurkat T cells and by serum treatment of confluent serum-deprived human fibroblasts.