title: Cloning and chromosome mapping of the human Mel-18 gene which encodes a DNA-binding protein with a new 'RING-finger' motif.
abstract: It has recently been reported that there exists a new 'RING-finger' protein family among the zinc-finger (Zf) proteins. Previously, we had isolated the mouse Mel-18 cDNA (mMel-18) encoding the nuclear RING-finger protein that exhibits an ability to bind to a nonspecific DNA column. Here, we have isolated and characterized the human Mel-18 cDNA (hMel-18) using the mMel-18 cDNA as a probe. The deduced hMel-18 protein contains 344 amino acids (38 kDa) with a RING-finger motif, a helix-loop-helix (HLH)-like structure and a Pro/Ser-rich region. The hMel-18 gene is conserved among vertebrates. Its mRNA is highly expressed in placenta, lung and kidney, but the level is low in liver, pancreas and skeletal muscle. Using in situ hybridization, we mapped hMel-18 to band q22 of chromosome 12. It is possible that the Mel-18/bmi-1 gene family represents a mammalian homologue of the Drosophila polycomb gene group.
authors.affiliation: Division of Molecular Immunology, School of Medicine, Chiba University, Japan.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ishida
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Asano
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Koseki
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ono
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Taniguchi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kanno
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D002871:Chromosome Banding; D002881:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 12; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D017344:Genes, Insect; D006801:Humans; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D007668:Kidney / Q000737:chemistry; D008168:Lung / Q000737:chemistry; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009928:Organ Specificity; D010920:Placenta / Q000737:chemistry; D063150:Polycomb Repressive Complex 1; D011804:Quinolines; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D016335:Zinc Fingers / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C489348:PCGF2 protein, human; D011804:Quinolines; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D012097:Repressor Proteins; C037219:quinoline; D063150:Polycomb Repressive Complex 1