ZIC3
protein-coding gene in the species Homo sapiens
ZIC3 is a member of the Zinc finger of the cerebellum (ZIC) protein family.
ZIC3 is classified as a ZIC protein due to conservation of the five C2H2 zinc fingers, which enables the protein to interact with DNA and proteins. Correct function of this protein family in critical for early development, and as such mutations of the genes encoding these proteins is known to result in various congenital defects. For example, mutation of ZIC3 is associated with heterotaxy, that is thought to occur due to the role of ZIC3 in initial left-right symmetry formation, which involves the maintaining redistributed Nodal after the asymmetry of the embryo is initially broken. Mutation of ZIC3 is also associated with various heart defects, such as heart looping, however these are thought to represent a mild form of heterotaxy. Mouse based studies have linked defective ZIC3 with neural tube defects (spina bifida and exencephaly) and skeletal defects as well indicated a role for Zic3 in neural crest specification. Both the left-right defects and the neural tube defects caused by loss of Zic3 have been linked to defective planar cell polarity.
ZIC3 is also of particular interest as it has been shown to be required for maintenance of embryonic stem cell pluripotency.
Involvement in Wnt signalling
ZIC2, another member of the ZIC family, has recently been found to interact with TCF7L2, enabling it to act as a Wnt/β-catenin signalling inhibitor. Further experiments have indicated that human ZIC3 is also able to inhibit Wnt signalling and that the Zinc finger domains are absolutely critical for this role.
“ZIC3” enters the record as protein-coding gene in the species Homo sapiens. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what ZIC3, protein-coding and gene can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Oct 22, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q18032422. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “ZIC3” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.