RAN Binding Protein 17 (RANBP17)

The human and mouse RANBP17 cDNAs encode 1,088-amino acid proteins containing an importin-beta N-terminal domain which is important for the binding of Ran protein. Human RANBP16 and RANBP17 share 66% amino acid sequence identity. Northern blot analysis showed ubiquitous expression of RANBP16, but restricted expression of RANBP17. Two RANBP17 transcripts of approximately 2.5 and 4.5 kb were strongly expressed in human testis, whereas 3 transcripts of approximately 4.5, 7.5, and 10 kb were moderately expressed in pancreas and weakly expressed in heart, placenta, lung, liver, thyroid, spinal cord, trachea, and adrenal gland. Murine Ranbp17 also showed a restricted expression pattern with a marked signal in testis. Both RANBP16 and RANBP17 are predominantly nuclear proteins.