Mouse transmembrane BAX inhibitor Motif 3 (Tmbim3) encodes a 38 kDa transmembrane protein expressed in the central nervous system

• Published in: Molecular and cellular biochemistry 2011-11, Vol.357 (1-2), p.73-81
• Main Authors: Nielsen, Joseph A., Chambers, Meredith A., Romm, Elena, Lee, Laurel Yong-Hwa, Berndt, Jo Ann, Hudson, Lynn D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amino Acid Sequence; Amino acids; Analysis; Animals; Apoptosis; Biochemistry; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Brain; Brain - metabolism; Cardiology; Central nervous system; Gene expression; Humans; Hypothalamus - metabolism; Life Sciences; Medical Biochemistry; Membrane Proteins - genetics; Membrane Proteins - metabolism; Mice; Mice, Knockout; Molecular Sequence Data; Nerve Tissue Proteins - genetics; Nerve Tissue Proteins - metabolism; Nervous system; Oncology; Proteins; Rats; Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate - genetics; Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate - metabolism; Rodents; Sequence Alignment; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; Topology
• ISSN: 0300-8177; 1573-4919
• DOI: 10.1007/s11010-011-0877-3

Cell survival proteins play an important role throughout nervous system development, normal physiological processes, and pathological conditions. Transmembrane BAX inhibitor motif 3 (TMBIM3, also known as GRINA), is a member of a family of proteins that contain a conserved BAX inhibitor-1 motif. This family of proteins includes several members that have been shown to protect cells from apoptosis. In this study, the authors show that TMBIM3 is expressed in the brain including high levels in the hippocampus. Biochemical and sequence analysis of TMBIM3 demonstrates that the rat, murine, and human genes encode an approximately 38 kDa protein with a predicted seven transmembrane domain topology. A Tmbim3 knockout mouse line did not have an obvious phenotype, but may prove useful in future studies of this family of proteins.