Dear Colleagues,

Proteins containing Zinc-finger domain(s) are able to mediate the interaction with DNA, RNA, and other proteins. They are implicated in transcriptional regulation, ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation, signal transduction, DNA repair, cell migration, and numerous other processes.

These proteins often contain multiple additional domains other than zinc-fingers. Indeed, in metazoan zinc-finger domains are rarely found alone; usually, they form tandem arrays and sometimes they combine with different domains thus increasing their complexity and potential functions. For instance, members of the positive regulatory domain (PRDM) family gene are characterized by a PR domain, related to the SET methyltransferase domain, and multiple zinc fingers motifs. PRDM proteins are transcriptional regulators which are highly cell type and tissue peculiar and which modulate the expression of target genes by modifying the chromatin structure either directly, through their intrinsic methyltransferase activity, or indirectly, through the recruitment of specific chromatin remodeling complexes. The PRDM gene family is involved in a broad spectrum of biological processes, including proliferation and differentiation control, cell cycle progression, and maintenance of immune cell homeostasis, being implicated in the transduction of several signals. Additionally, PRDMs are able to contribute to many developmental processes, controlling cell differentiation and maturation events, cell commitment, as well as cell stemness. Remarkably, genetic and epigenetic alterations of several PRDM family members have been frequently observed in cancer. Overall, the PRDM gene family is involved in several human diseases and could represent a molecular marker for diagnosis and prognosis and a promising target for therapy. We invite authors to submit both original research articles and review articles that cover recent research advances in the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of transcriptional regulation and main processes controlled by Zn finger proteins during the development, cell homeostasis maintenance, as well as in the onset and progression of human disease.

Prof. Dr. Bruno Moncharmont
Dr. Erika Di Zazzo
Prof. Dr. Ciro Abbondanza
Dr. Amelia Casamassimi
Dr. Monica Rienzo
Guest Editors

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• PRDM genes
• cancer
• human diseases
• proliferation
• differentiation
• gene expression regulation
• apoptosis