Splicing Factor 3A Subunit 2 (SF3A2)

SF3A2 encodes subunit 2 of the splicing factor 3a protein complex. The splicing factor 3a heterotrimer includes subunits 1, 2 and 3 and is necessary for the in vitro conversion of 15S U2 snRNP into an active 17S particle that performs pre-mRNA splicing. Subunit 2 interacts with subunit 1 through its amino-terminus while the single zinc finger domain of subunit 2 plays a role in its binding to the 15S U2 snRNP. Subunit 2 may also function independently of its RNA splicing function as a microtubule-binding protein.

The presence of a zinc finger of the C2H2 class led them to predict that SAP62 is a nucleic acid-binding protein, consistent with the observation that SAP62 can be crosslinked by ultraviolet light to pre-mRNA in the spliceosome.