This gene encodes a transcription factor that contains four zinc-finger motifs at the C-terminus and a proline/glutamine-rich DNA-binding domain at the N-terminus. It has an essential role in the normal development of the urogenital system, and it is mutated in a small subset of patients with Wilm's tumors. Multiple transcript variants, resulting from alternative splicing at two coding exons, have been well characterized. There is also evidence for the use of non-AUG (CUG) translation initiation site upstream of, and in-frame with the first AUG, leading to additional isoforms. Authors of PMID:7926762 also provide evidence that WT1 mRNA undergoes RNA editing in human and rat, and that this process is tissue-restricted and developmentally regulated. [provided by RefSeq]