Drosophila neurogenic gene neuralized (neu) is required for the maintenance of neuroblast cell fate and differentiation. In the present study we have characterized a mouse and a rat homologue of Drosophila neu. Mammalian neu1 encodes several C-terminal RING zinc finger proteins with one or two neuralized homology repeat (NHR) domains. Mammalian neu1 mRNAs are predominantly expressed in the nervous system and in the skeletal muscle with the highest levels in the adult. In the nervous system neu1 mRNAs are expressed in neurons and dendritically localized in several brain regions, suggesting a role of neu1 in the regulation of synaptic function. Mammalian neu1 isoforms exhibit transcription repression activities that are mediated by NHR domains and regulated by nucleocytoplasmic shuttling. In conclusion, our results suggest that mammalian neu1 is a protein with transcriptional repressor activities involved in the regulation of myo- and neurogenesis.