Peg3 encodes a C2H2 type zinc finger protein that is implicated in regulating core body temperature, feeding behavior and obesity in mice. The Peg3 gene transcript encodes a zinc finger protein of 1,572 amino acids. Peg3 is expressed in early somites, branchial arches, and other mesodermal tissues, as well as in the hypothalamus. PEG3 induces apoptosis in cooperation with SIAH1A and acts as a mediator between TP53/p53 and BAX in a neuronal death pathway that is activated by DNA damage. PEG3 acts synergistically with TRAF2 and inhibits TNF induced apoptosis through activation of NF-kappa-B. PEG3 also possesses a tumor suppressing activity in glioma cells. GENE FUNCTION Kim et al. (1997) reported that the PEG3 gene, like other genes within the region on 19q to which it maps, also encodes a Kruppel-type ZNF protein, but one that is distinguished from other ZNF gene products by the fact that it carries 2 novel proline-rich motifs. The mouse and partial human PEG3 gene sequences showed a high level of conservation, despite that fact that 1 of the 2 proline-rich repeats is absent from the human gene. Kim et al. (1997) found that the human gene is expressed at highest levels in ovary and placenta; mouse Peg3, by contrast, is transcribed at highest levels in the adult brain.

Nuclear