Retrotransposon Gag-like protein 3 (RTL3)

Retrotransposon Gag-like protein 3 (RTL3) is a human protein encoded by the RTL3 gene, part of a family of gag-related retrotransposon genes that have lost the ability to retrotranspose but retain an intact open reading frame[1][4][6]. RTL3 possesses a zinc finger nucleic acid-binding domain and a gag-like region. It is not ubiquitously expressed, but shows strong expression in cartilage, chondrocytes, and synoviocytes[2]. RTL3 has been shown to co-regulate, along with SOX-9, the expression of COL2A1 (type II collagen) in cartilage, impacting chondrogenesis and extracellular matrix formation[2]. It may function as a transcriptional regulator, and there is evidence for a role in postnatal myogenesis and satellite cell self-renewal[4][5][6]. While altered expression of RTL3 may be relevant in certain diseases affecting connective tissue or linked by association to diseases (e.g., ovarian primitive germ cell tumor, juvenile glaucoma), RTL3 is not currently a direct therapeutic target and no interacting drugs are reported[4][6].

Other names

Retrotransposon Gag like 3MAR3MART3FLJ38865Mar3Mart3ZHC5SIRH9Zinc finger CCHC domain-containing protein 5Sushi-Ichi retrotransposon homolog 9mammalian retrotransposon-derived 3ZCCHC5zinc finger CCHC-type containing 5zinc finger, CCHC domain containing 5