Expression patterns of TRIM family members during Xenopus laevis organogenesis

AbstractThe TRIM/RBCC family of proteins is characterized by tripartite motif, composed of a RING domain, one or two B-box domains and a Coiled-coil region. TRIM proteins are involved in a plethora of cellular processes such as apoptosis, cell cycle regulation and viral response. These represent the largest subfamily of RING-containing putative E3 ligases. Though for most of the TRIM proteins their role as E3 ligases has been established but little is known about their specific interaction and expression patterns during the vertebrate development. Here, we report the expression patterns of various TRIM proteins during the early development of Xenopus laevis. Most interestingly, though E3 ligases have been expected to be expressed ubiquitously we found several examples, which are expressed mainly in presumptive neural territories. Thus, we are investigating the roles of these TRIM family members in early neurogenesis.

Keywords

TRIM, E3 ligases (SUMO and Ubiquitin), RING domain, Xenopus laevis.

Abbreviations

TRIM, Tripartite Motif; RBCC, RING, B-box and Coiled-coil domain.