Anti-RanBP9 Antibody (A396)

A truncated human RanBPM has been isolated as a protein binding to Ran, Ras-like nuclear small GTPase. Full-sized human RanBPM cDNA which was recently isolated, was found to encode a protein of 90 kDa which comprises a large protein complex. Consistent with this finding, several proteins were found to be co-precipitated with RanBPM by immunoprecipitation analysis. Accordingly, in the present study, we screened the human cDNA library by the two-hybrid method using RanBPM cDNA as bait. One novel protein designated as Twa1 (Two hybrid associated protein No. 1 with RanBPM), and two known proteins, a human homologue (hMuskelin) of mouse Muskelin and HSMpp8 were isolated repeatedly. Twa1 was well conserved through evolution and was localized within the nucleus. Interestingly, in addition to Muskelin and RanBPM, Twa1 was found to possess the LisH-CTLH motif which is detected in proteins involved in microtubule dynamics, cell migration, nucleokinesis and chromosome segregation. These functions overlap with functions suggested for the RanGTPase cycle. Immunoprecipitation and gel-filtration analyses indicated that both Twa1 and hMuskelin did indeed comprise a protein complex with RanBPM. Taken together with the fact that RanBPM interacts with Ran, our present findings suggested that there is an as yet uncovered function of the RanGTPase cycle.

Previously isolated RanBPM, a Ran-binding protein in the microtubule-organizing center, which had been thought to play a role in Ran-stimulated microtubule assembly, turned out to be a truncated protein. To clarify the function of RanBPM, we cloned the full-sized RanBPM cDNA that encodes a 90 kDa protein, compared to the previously isolated cDNA that encoded a 55 kDa protein. The newly cloned 5' coding region contains a great number of cytidine and guanidine nucleotides, like the CpG island. Thus, full-sized RanBPM cDNA encodes a long stretch of proline and glutamine residues in the N-terminal region. It comprises a protein complex of more than 670 kDa. Ran was detected in this complex when RanBPM and Ran were both ectopically expressed. New antibodies to RanBPM were prepared against three different regions of RanBPM. All of them detected a 90 kDa protein that is predominantly localized both in the nucleus and in the cytoplasmic region surrounding the centrosome, but none of them stained the centrosome. In this context, our previous notion that RanBPM is a centrosomal protein should be discarded. RanBPM is well conserved in the animal kingdom. It may play an important role in uncovering Ran-dependent nuclear events.