MORC Family CW-Type Zinc Finger Protein 3 (MORC3)

MORC3 encodes a protein that localizes to the nuclear matrix. The protein also has RNA binding activity, and has a predicted coiled-coil domain.The deduced 939-amino acid protein contains a putative bipartite nuclear localization signal and a coiled-coil domain. Northern blot analysis detected a 4.4-kb transcript with high expression in heart, placenta, and skeletal muscle, lower expression in brain, lung, liver, and pancreas, and no expression in kidney. Indirect immunofluorescence studies localized NXP2 throughout the nucleus with the exception of the nucleolus. Localization was dependent on the presence of RNA.NXP2 contains structurally separated RNA binding, nuclear matrix binding, and coiled-coil domains, and suggested that NXP2 may play roles in RNA metabolism and maintenance of nuclear architecture.