Cold Inducible RNA Binding Protein (CIRBP)

Cold stress induces in microorganisms the synthesis of several proteins that are involved in various cellular processes such as transcription, translation, and recombination. The cold-inducible RNA-binding protein (Cirp) is induced in rodent cells by mild cold stress (32 degrees C). Cirp consists of an N-terminal RNA-binding domain and a C-terminal gly-rich domain, and plays an essential role in cold-induced suppression of cell proliferation.

CIRBP mRNA was constitutively expressed in all cell lines examined. In all of the cell lines, the levels of CIRBP mRNA and protein were increased within 12 hours after a temperature downshift from 37 degrees C to 32 degrees C. These results demonstrated that CIRBP is a cold-shock protein in human cells.