Retinoblastoma-interacting zinc finger gene (RIZ1) is a tumor suppressor gene which is highly inactivated by promoter hypermethylation in patients with liver fluke-related cholangiocarcinoma (CCA).
Expression of RIZ1 protein (Retinoblastoma-interacting zinc-finger protein 1) in prostate cancer epithelial cells changes with cancer grade progression and is modulated in vitro by DHT and E2.
In order to understand the oncogenic properties of retinoblastoma-interacting zinc-finger (RIZ) gene products, we produced an MCF-7-derived cell line expressing a fusion protein containing the zinc-finger (aa 359-497) domain of RIZ protein (MCF-7/znf).
Recently, an estrogen receptor alpha (ESR1) specific co-activator, retinoblastoma-interacting zinc-finger protein (RIZ1, 1p36), was shown to strongly enhance ESR1 function in vitro.
The human PRDI-BF1 or BLIMP1 gene and its mouse homolog Blimp1 are members of the recently realized PR domain family that includes the retinoblastoma interacting zinc finger gene RIZ and the MDS1-EVI1 leukemia cancer gene.
To identify a growth-promoting activity related to retinoblastoma-interacting-zinc-finger (RIZ) protein, differential protein expression of MCF-7 cell lines expressing the zinc-finger or the proline-rich domain of RIZ protein was analyzed by a robust bottom-up mass-spectrometry proteomic approach.