RBMS3: Proteins and Enzymes

The protein encoded by the RBMS3 gene is a member of a small family of proteins which bind single stranded DNA/RNA. These proteins are characterized by the presence of two sets of ribonucleoprotein consensus sequence (RNP-CS) that contain conserved motifs, RNP1 and RNP2, originally described in RNA binding proteins, and required for DNA binding. These proteins have been implicated in such diverse functions as DNA replication, gene transcription, cell cycle progression and apoptosis. The encoded protein was isolated by virtue of its binding to an upstream element of the alpha2(I) collagen promoter. The observation that this protein localizes mostly in the cytoplasm suggests that it may be involved in a cytoplasmic function such as controlling RNA metabolism, rather than transcription. Multiple alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene.