OAZ is a 30-zinc finger, DNA-binding factor that associates with members of the Smad family of transcription factors in response to BMP2 activation. Bone morphogenic proteins (BMPs), are the largest group within the TGF Beta growth factors superfamily and are involved in embryonic development, specifically the formation of left-right asymmetry, neurogenesis, organogenesis and skeletal development. BMPs bind to surface receptors, which then phosphorylate serine residues of specific Smad proteins to induce Smad translocation to the nucleus and transcriptional activation of BMP targeted genes. OAZ specifically cooperates with the BMP-activated Smads, namely Smad1, 5 and 8, in binding to the CAGAC and TGGAGC boxes within the BRE, or BMP response element, and activating transcription. OAZ contains a BMP signaling module formed by two clusters of fingers that individually associate with either the Smads or the BMP response element. Distinct regions of OAZ, separate from the modules involved in BMP regulation, also enable OAZ to function as a transcriptional partner of Olf-1/EBF in olfactory epithelium and lymphocyte development, indicating that, as a multizinc finger protein, OAZ may have dual roles in signal transduction during development.