Makorin Ring Finger Protein 1 (MKRN1)

The human MKRN1 cDNA contains a contiguous sequence of 3,026 basepairs including an open reading frame (ORF) from nucleotide 121 to 1567 that encodes a putative protein of 482 amino acids. Mouse and Drosophila

Mkrn1 proteins share 92% and 27% with the human protein, respectively, with Drosophila Mkrn1 reaching 63% identity over 123 amino acids spanning from upstream of the RING finger through the C-terminal C3H zinc finger. Northern blot analysis of human tissues detected a single prominent 3.2-kb transcript, suggesting that the MKRN1 gene is highly and uniformly expressed in all tissues, including different regions of the brain. High levels were observed in murine embryonic nervous system and adult testis.MKRN1 interacts with a C-terminal domain of TERT, the catalytic subunit of the telomerase ribonucleoprotein.