Zfp423 is required for normal cerebellar development

Zinc finger protein 423 (also known as Ebf-associated zinc finger protein, Ebfaz) binds to and negatively regulates Ebf1, a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor required for B-cell lineage commitment and olfactory epithelium development. Zfp423 also binds to Smad1/Smad4 in response to Bmp2 signaling. Zfp423 contains 30 Kruppel-like zinc fingers that are organized into discrete clusters; some zinc fingers are used to bind DNA, while others mediate Zfp423's interaction with other signaling proteins such as Ebf1 and Smad1/Smad4. Previously, we showed that Zfp423 is an oncogene whose upregulation following retroviral integration in murine B cells leads to an arrest in B-cell differentiation and the subsequent development of B-cell lymphomas. To study the biological functions of Zfp423 in vivo, we used recombineering and gene targeting to generate mice that carry conditional as well as null alleles of Zfp423. Homozygous Zfp423 null mice are runted and ataxic, the cerebellum is underdeveloped, and the vermis is severely reduced. In the remaining cerebellar structures, the Purkinje cells are poorly developed and mislocalized. In mice carrying a hypomorphic Zfp423 gene trap allele, lacZ expression in the cerebellum correlates with the Purkinje cell layer, suggesting that these phenotypes are a result of a Purkinje cell-intrinsic defect.