Tripartite Motif Containing Protein 49 (TRIM49)

The RING finger motif is a unique zinc-chelating domain involved in mediating protein-DNA and protein-protein interactions. RING finger protein-18 belongs to the RBCC (RING finger B-box coiled-coil), or C3HC4, subfamily, members of which have been implicated in transcriptional regulation, carcinogenesis, and cell transformation.

Using the virtual transcribed sequence (VTS) computational approach, Yoshikawa et al. (2000) isolated the RNF18 cDNA from a testis cDNA library. The deduced 452-amino acid protein contains RING finger, B-box, and coiled-coil domains and shares 68% overall sequence similarity with the SSA-RO52 protein . Northern blot and RT-PCR analyses detected a major band of approximately 2 kb expressed preferentially in testis.