HECT Domain And RCC1 Like Domain Protein 3 (HERC3)

HERC3 belongs to the HERC family of ubiquitin ligases, all of which contain a HECT domain and at least 1 RCC1-like domain (RLD). The 350-amino acid HECT domain is predicted to catalyze the formation of a thioester with ubiquitin before transferring it to a substrate, and the RLD is predicted to act as a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for small G proteins.HERC3 gene contains 26 exons.HERC3 contains an N-terminal RLD and a C-terminal HECT domain. Using RT-PCR, they found that HERC3 was highly expressed in fetal brain, with lower levels in adult brain. Low expression was detected in placenta, heart, and testis. Confocal immunofluorescence microscopy of transiently transfected HeLa cells showed HERC3 in a punctate cytoplasmic distribution.