title: Cloning and characterization of a gene (RNF22) encoding a novel brain expressed ring finger protein (BERP) that maps to human chromosome 11p15.5.
abstract: We have recently identified a novel RING finger protein expressed in the rat brain, which associates with myosin V and alpha-actinin-4. Here we have cloned and characterized the orthologous human BERP cDNA and gene (HGMW-approved symbol RNF22). The human BERP protein is encoded by 11 exons ranging in size from 71 to 733 bp, and fluorescence in situ hybridization shows that the BERP gene maps to chromosome 11p15.5, 3' to the FE65 gene. The human BERP protein is 98% identical to the rat and mouse proteins, and we have identified a highly conserved potential orthologue in Caenorhabditis elegans. BERP belongs to the RING finger-B-box-coiled coil (RBCC) subgroup of RING finger proteins, and a cluster of these RBCC protein genes is present in chromosome 11p15. Chromosome region 11p15 is thought to harbor tumor suppressor genes, and deletions of this region occur frequently in several types of human cancers. These observations indicate that BERP may be a novel tumor suppressor gene.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program in Neuroscience, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z3, Canada.
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: El-Husseini
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fretier
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Vincent
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D002880:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 11; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000378:metabolism; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005091:Exons; D015723:Gene Library; D016147:Genes, Tumor Suppressor / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D007438:Introns; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D051381:Rats; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D018076:DNA, Complementary; C426543:TRIM3 protein, human