Table 1. Selected zinc binding protein genes significantly regulated during the course of serum deprivation.
| Gene | Function | Day (p value) |
|---|---|---|
| FBLIM1 |
Cell-extracellular matrix interactions, contributes to prevention of apoptosis of epithelial cells through extracellular matrix adhesion [54] |
D 7 +1.2-fold (0.0023) |
| FASN |
Cholesterol, triglyceride, and fatty acid homeostasis, insulin signaling and estrogen response, VitaminB5 metabolism, and fatty acyl-CoA biosynthesis, downregulation is associated with hypoxic cell death in HepG2 [55] |
D5 +1.26-fold (0.0023) |
| D7 +1.22-fold (0.0072) | ||
| RFWD2 |
Modulator of FASN activity, E3-ligase for p53 [56] and may play a role in responses to UV damage in mammalian cells, including regulating autophagy [57,58] |
D5 +1.39-fold (0.0143) |
| RPS6KA5 |
An NF-κB RelA/p65 kinase, part of the innate immune system, mediates activation of pro-inflammatory genes, and regulates cigarette smoke-induced histone modifications on NF-κB-dependent genes [59]. Cigarette smoking is a risk factor for AMD [60,61] |
D5 +1.46-fold (0.0307) |
| D7 +1.51-fold (0.0112) | ||
| NR2C2 |
Plays a role in protecting cells from oxidative stress and damage induced by ionizing radiation. Associated with AMD-risk through linkage analyses [62] which implicated stress-activated MAPK pathway constituents with AMD risk. |
D7 +1.37-fold (0.0106) |
| GLIS2 |
Associated with kidney defects, including basement membrane thickening and increased apoptosis and upregulation of complement proteins CFH and C3, in mice. Glis2mut mice showed increased expression of genes involved in immune responses/inflammation and fibrosis/tissue remodeling in kidneys [63,64]. |
D5 −1.3-fold (0.0439) |
| JADE1 |
Pro-apoptotic ubiquitin ligase [65] |
D3 −1.8-fold (0.0497) |
| D7 −1.38-fold (0.0269) | ||
| VPS11 |
Vesicle trafficking and formation of late endosomes, required for maintenance of RPE in a vertebrate model [66] |
D1 +1.26-fold (0.0035) |
| ZNF418 |
Suppressor of the MAPK pathway [67] |
D7 +1.38-fold (0.0444) |
| ZXDC | Transcription factor that activates CCL2, a chemokine that has been implicated in age-related retinal degeneration [68] | D7 −2.24-fold (0.0126) |
Official gene symbols followed by a brief functional description of the zinc binding protein. The last column provides the day with the relative increase or decrease as compared to day0 and the associated p value from t test results for time points with significant differential expression.