Ankyrin Repeat And SOCS Box Containing Protein 3 (ASB3)

ASB3 is a member of the ankyrin repeat and SOCS box-containing (ASB) family of proteins.The SOCS box serves to couple suppressor of cytokine signalling (SOCS) proteins and their binding partners with the elongin B and C complex, possibly targeting them for degradation. Multiple alternatively spliced transcript variants have been described for this gene but some of the full length sequences are not known.Sequence analysis predicted that the 518-amino acid protein, which is 84% identical to the mouse protein, contains 12 ankyrin repeats and a C-terminal SOCS box. Northern blot analysis of mouse tissues revealed wide expression of a 2.0-kb transcript, with highest expression in testis and spleen. Genomic sequence analysis determined that the ASB3 gene contains at least 11 exons.