DNA methyltransferases (DNMT) 313 is a de novo DNMT that represses transcription independent of DNMT activity. In order to gain a better insight into DNMTB3-mediated transcriptional repression, we performed a yeast two-hybrid analysis using DNMT3B as a bait. Of the various binding candidates, ZHX1, a member of zinc-finger and homeobox protein, was found to interact with DNMT3B in vivo and in vitro. N-terminal PWWP domain of DNMT3B was required for its interaction with homeobox motifs of ZHX1. ZHX1 contains nuclear localization signal at C-terminal homeobox motif, and both ZHX1 and DNMT3B were co-localized in nucleus. Furthermore, we found that ZHX1 enhanced the transcriptional repression mediated by DNMT3B when DNMT3B is directly targeted to DNA. These results showed for the first the direct linkage between DNMT and zinc-fingers homeoboxes protein, leading to enhanced gene silencing by DNMT3B. (c) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.