Dzip1 - DAZ interacting protein 1

This gene encodes a zinc finger protein that has been demonstrated to interact with the deleted in azoospermia (DAZ) protein. DAZ plays an important role early in germ cell development to maintain the initial germ cell population. Deletion of this gene in mice compromises Hedgehog signaling during embryogenesis. Mouse embryos lacking the encoded protein show severe developmental defects with dorsalized neural tubes and underdeveloped somites. Alternative splicing of this gene results in multiple transcript variants. A pseudogene for this gene has been identified on chromosome 5. [provided by RefSeq, Jan 2015]