ZNF396 (zinc finger protein 396) is a SCAN domain-containing transcription factor located on chromosome 18 that functions primarily as a DNA-dependent transcriptional repressor 1. The gene produces multiple isoforms through alternative splicing, with the full-length isoform (ZNF396-fu) containing a SCAN domain and C2H2 zinc finger repeats that enable sequence-specific DNA binding and nuclear localization, while the truncated isoform (ZNF396-nf) contains only the SCAN domain and exhibits diffuse cytoplasmic distribution 1. ZNF396 can form homo- and hetero-associations with related proteins and demonstrates transcriptional repression activity 1. In basal cell carcinoma, ZNF396 is highly expressed in tumor cells where it represses Notch signaling, particularly by suppressing Hes1 expression, thereby preventing differentiation and maintaining the stem/progenitor phenotype; siRNA silencing of ZNF396 induces Notch2, Hes1, and involucrin expression and inhibits BCC cell proliferation 2. ZNF396 is also upregulated in response to adaptogenic herbal extracts and stress-response signaling in neuronal cells, implicating it in cellular stress adaptation 3. Additionally, ZNF396 has been associated with Parkinson's disease susceptibility in genome-wide association studies of Chinese populations 4. The gene was examined as a candidate locus in alopecia with mental retardation syndrome mapping but showed no disease-causing variants in affected individuals 5.