Acidic Repeat Containing Protein (ACRC)

By a combination of in silico and 'wet' experiments, Nolte et al. (2001) identified a novel gene, designated ACRC, within the DYT3 critical region on Xq13.1. They cloned an ACRC cDNA from a fetal brain cDNA library. ACRC encodes a predicted acidic nuclear protein of 691 amino acids with a characteristic repeat of 21 units of 8 to 10 amino acids. The protein contains several potential nuclear localization signals in the C terminus as well as putative N-glycosylation and phosphorylation sites. Northern blot analysis detected expression of a 3.2-kb ACRC transcript in all tissues tested, with highest expression in skeletal muscle. Based on its deduced nuclear localization and the deduced nature of the polypeptide, Nolte et al. (2001) suggested that the ACRC gene may play a role in chromatin structure.