Alternative titles; symbols
HGNC Approved Gene Symbol: EML3
Cytogenetic location: 11q12.3 Genomic coordinates (GRCh38): 11:62,602,218-62,612,775 (from NCBI)
EML3 is a nuclear microtubule-binding protein required for correct alignment of chromosomes during cell division (Tegha-Dunghu et al., 2008).
Using a proteomic approach to identify mitotic microtubule-binding proteins from HeLa cell nuclear extracts, Tegha-Dunghu et al. (2008) identified EML3. The deduced 780-amino acid protein has an N-terminal hydrophobic EMAP-like protein (HELP) domain, followed by a putative nuclear localization signal (NLS). Immunoblot analysis showed that endogenous EML3 had an apparent molecular mass of 95 kD in HeLa cells. Immunofluorescence analysis revealed that endogenous EML3 localized to mitotic microtubules throughout all cell cycle stages and shuttled between the cytoplasm and nucleus during interphase.
By mutation analysis, Tegha-Dunghu et al. (2008) confirmed that the putative NLS of human EML3 was required for nuclear accumulation during interphase in HeLa cells. The HELP domain of EML3 was required for microtubule colocalization and appeared to be sufficient to mediate microtubule binding in interphase. RNA interference-mediated knockdown of EML3 combined with time-lapse fluorescence microscopy demonstrated that EML3 was required for correct spindle function and chromosome capture in metaphase of cell division.
Gross (2018) mapped the EML3 gene to chromosome 11q12.3 based on an alignment of the EML3 sequence (GenBank BC108280) with the genomic sequence (GRCh38).
Gross, M. B. Personal Communication. Baltimore, Md. 9/12/2018.
Tegha-Dunghu, J., Neumann, B., Reber, S., Krause, R., Erfle, H., Walter, T., Held, M., Rogers, P., Hupfeld, K., Ruppert, T., Ellenberg, J., Gruss, O. J. EML3 is a nuclear microtubule-binding protein required for the correct alignment of chromosomes in metaphase. J. Cell Sci. 121: 1718-1726, 2008. [PubMed: 18445686] [Full Text: https://doi.org/10.1242/jcs.019174]