Alternative titles; symbols
HGNC Approved Gene Symbol: CIRBP
Cytogenetic location: 19p13.3 Genomic coordinates (GRCh38): 19:1,269,332-1,274,880 (from NCBI)
Cold stress induces in microorganisms the synthesis of several proteins that are involved in various cellular processes such as transcription, translation, and recombination. The cold-inducible RNA-binding protein (Cirp) is induced in rodent cells by mild cold stress (32 degrees C). Cirp consists of an N-terminal RNA-binding domain and a C-terminal gly-rich domain, and plays an essential role in cold-induced suppression of cell proliferation. Nishiyama et al. (1997) cloned a cDNA encoding an 18-kD protein with 95.3% amino acid sequence identity to the mouse Cirp protein. CIRBP mRNA was constitutively expressed in all cell lines examined. In all of the cell lines, the levels of CIRBP mRNA and protein were increased within 12 hours after a temperature downshift from 37 degrees C to 32 degrees C. These results demonstrated that CIRBP is a cold-shock protein in human cells.
By fluorescence in situ hybridization, Nishiyama et al. (1997) mapped the CIRBP gene to chromosome 19p13.3.
Morf et al. (2012) showed that simulated body temperature cycles, but not peripheral oscillators, controlled the rhythmic expression of cold-inducible RNA-binding protein (CIRBP) in cultured fibroblasts. In turn, loss-of-function experiments indicated that CIRBP was required for high-amplitude circadian gene expression. The transcriptomewide identification of CIRBP-bound RNAs by a biotin-streptavidin-based crosslinking and immunoprecipitation (CLIP) procedure revealed several transcripts encoding circadian oscillator proteins, including CLOCK (601851). Moreover, CLOCK accumulation was strongly reduced in CIRBP-depleted fibroblasts. Because ectopic expression of CLOCK improved circadian gene expression in these cells, Morf et al. (2012) concluded that CIRBP confers robustness to circadian oscillators through regulation of CLOCK expression.
Morf, J., Rey, G., Schneider, K., Stratmann, M., Fujita, J., Naef, F., Schibler, U. Cold-inducible RNA-binding protein modulates circadian gene expression posttranscriptionally. Science 338: 379-383, 2012. [PubMed: 22923437] [Full Text: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1217726]
Nishiyama, H., Higashitsuji, H., Yokoi, H., Itoh, K., Danno, S., Matsuda, T., Fujita, J. Cloning and characterization of human CIRP (cold-inducible RNA-binding protein) cDNA and chromosomal assignment of the gene. Gene 204: 115-120, 1997. [PubMed: 9434172] [Full Text: https://doi.org/10.1016/s0378-1119(97)00530-1]