Androgen Receptor N-Terminal Interacting Protein (ARNIP)

ARNIP has ubiquitin-protein ligase activity. This protein binds with p53 and promotes the ubiquitin-mediated proteosomal degradation of p53. This gene is oncogenic because loss of p53 function contributes directly to malignant tumor development. ARNIP contains a RING-H2 (C3H2C3) finger domain, which is capable of coordinating zinc ions, and several putative phosphorylation sites. ARNIP shares 90.4% amino acid identity with mouse Arnip and significant homology with Arnip from several other vertebrate and invertebrate species. All cysteine and histidine residues in the C3H2C3 RING motif are conserved between species. Northern blot analysis of mouse tissues detected a major transcript of about 1.7 kb expressed at highest levels in testis, at moderate levels in kidney, and at low levels in all other tissues examined.