Characterization of TRIM31, upregulated in gastric adenocarcinoma, as a novel RBCC protein

To explore the molecules associated with gastric adenocarcinoma, we used the gene expression profile database of various human tissues and identified TRIM31 upregulated in both patients with chronic gastritis and stomach cancer. TRIM31 is a new member of RBCC proteins composed of RING finger, B-box and coiled-coil domains. We characterized TRIM31 biochemically and found it possess properties in common with other RBCC proteins, such as occurrence of alternative splicing transcripts, in vitro autoubiquitylating activity and a tendency to homo-oligomerize. The primary localization site of TRIM31 is the cytoplasm but some fraction is potentially associated with the mitochondria. TRIM31 overexpression suppresses colony formation of HCT116 cells while knockdown of its expression with short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) consistently tends to enhance growth of AsPC-1 cells slightly. Thus, TRIM31 is a characteristic RBCC protein with the ability to regulate cell proliferation negatively and may be a potential biomarker of gastric cancer as it is overexpressed from the early stage of gastric carcinogenesis.