RFPL3 Gene

Name ret finger protein-like 3
Description Predicted to enable protein homodimerization activity; protein kinase binding activity; and ubiquitin protein ligase activity. Predicted to be involved in several processes, including positive regulation of autophagy; positive regulation of canonical NF-kappaB signal transduction; and regulation of viral entry into host cell. Predicted to be located in nucleus. Predicted to be active in cytosol and nucleoplasm. [provided by Alliance of Genome Resources, Mar 2025]
Summary
{"type": "root", "children": [{"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\nRecent studies have revealed that the RFPL3 gene—a member of the ret finger protein‐like family—plays a critical role in brain development. In primates, gene duplication and neofunctionalization events in the RFPL1,2,3 cluster have led to markedly increased transcript levels in the developing neocortex. Such evolutionary innovations suggest that RFPL3 may contribute to the increased size and complex organization of the primate neocortex, likely through its regulation by factors such as Pax6."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "1"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ""}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n\n"}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\nIn a distinct context, RFPL3 has been identified as a novel cellular factor that stimulates retroviral integration. Functional screening using a wheat germ cell‐free protein library revealed that RFPL3 enhances HIV‐1 preintegration complex activity in vitro. The stimulatory effect appears to depend on its N‐terminal RING domain, suggesting that RFPL3 can promote viral DNA insertion into the host genome."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "2"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ""}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n\n"}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\nMoreover, in lung cancer cells RFPL3 functions as a transcriptional activator of the human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) promoter. RFPL3 binds directly to the hTERT promoter and, through interaction and acetylation mediated by CBP, upregulates hTERT expression and telomerase activity, thereby promoting tumor cell growth and correlating with poor prognosis and metastasis. Additional evidence indicates that RFPL3 overexpression is linked to activation of the EGFR–MEK signaling cascade, which further elevates the expression of hTERT and related proliferative proteins."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_fs", "start_ref": "3", "end_ref": "5"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ""}]}, {"type": "rg", "children": [{"type": "r", "ref": 1, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Jérôme Bonnefont, Sergey I Nikolaev, Anselme L Perrier, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Evolutionary forces shape the human RFPL1,2,3 genes toward a role in neocortex development."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Am J Hum Genet (2008)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.ajhg.2008.07.007"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajhg.2008.07.007"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "18656177"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18656177"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 2, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Beng Hui Tan, Yasutsugu Suzuki, Hirotaka Takahashi, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Identification of RFPL3 protein as a novel E3 ubiquitin ligase modulating the integration activity of human immunodeficiency virus, type 1 preintegration complex using a microtiter plate-based assay."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Biol Chem (2014)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1074/jbc.M114.561662"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M114.561662"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "25107902"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25107902"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 3, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Wangbing Chen, Jianjun Lu, Yu Qin, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Ret finger protein-like 3 promotes tumor cell growth by activating telomerase reverse transcriptase expression in human lung cancer cells."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Oncotarget (2014)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.18632/oncotarget.2557"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.2557"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "25481043"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25481043"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 4, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Yu Qin, Wangbing Chen, Yao Xiao, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "RFPL3 and CBP synergistically upregulate hTERT activity and promote lung cancer growth."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Oncotarget (2015)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.18632/oncotarget.4825"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.4825"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "26318425"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26318425"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 5, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Chuan Lin, Yu Qin, Hua Zhang, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "EGF upregulates RFPL3 and hTERT via the MEK signaling pathway in non‑small cell lung cancer cells."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Oncol Rep (2018)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.3892/or.2018.6417"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.3892/or.2018.6417"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "29749533"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29749533"}]}]}]}
Synonyms RNF120
Proteins RFPL3_HUMAN
NCBI Gene ID 10738
API
Download Associations
Predicted Functions View RFPL3's ARCHS4 Predicted Functions.
Co-expressed Genes View RFPL3's ARCHS4 Predicted Functions.
Expression in Tissues and Cell Lines View RFPL3's ARCHS4 Predicted Functions.

Functional Associations

RFPL3 has 2,226 functional associations with biological entities spanning 8 categories (molecular profile, organism, chemical, functional term, phrase or reference, disease, phenotype or trait, structural feature, cell line, cell type or tissue, gene, protein or microRNA) extracted from 61 datasets.

Click the + buttons to view associations for RFPL3 from the datasets below.

If available, associations are ranked by standardized value

Dataset Summary
Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles tissues with high or low expression of RFPL3 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
Allen Brain Atlas Aging Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles tissue samples with high or low expression of RFPL3 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Aging Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray tissue samples with high or low expression of RFPL3 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray dataset.
Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by RNA-seq tissue samples with high or low expression of RFPL3 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by RNA-seq dataset.
Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles tissues with high or low expression of RFPL3 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles cell lines with high or low expression of RFPL3 gene relative to other cell lines from the BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles cell types and tissues with high or low expression of RFPL3 gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
Carcinogenome Chemical Perturbation Carcinogenicity Signatures small molecule perturbations changing expression of RFPL3 gene from the Carcinogenome Chemical Perturbation Carcinogenicity Signatures dataset.
CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles cell lines with high or low copy number of RFPL3 gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles cell lines with high or low expression of RFPL3 gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations cell types associated with RFPL3 gene from the CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations dataset.
ChEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of RFPL3 gene from the CHEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
ChEA Transcription Factor Targets transcription factors binding the promoter of RFPL3 gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
ChEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022 transcription factors binding the promoter of RFPL3 gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022 dataset.
CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules small molecule perturbations changing expression of RFPL3 gene from the CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules dataset.
COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 cellular components co-occuring with RFPL3 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles cell lines with RFPL3 gene mutations from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles dataset.
DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency cell lines with fitness changed by RFPL3 gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency dataset.
DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores diseases associated with RFPL3 gene in GWAS datasets from the DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores dataset.
DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores diseases co-occuring with RFPL3 gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores dataset.
DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025 diseases co-occuring with RFPL3 gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations diseases associated with RFPL3 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles histone modification site profiles with high histone modification abundance at RFPL3 gene from the ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles dataset.
ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of RFPL3 gene from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets transcription factors binding the promoter of RFPL3 gene in ChIP-seq datasets from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells PubMedIDs of publications reporting gene signatures containing RFPL3 from the ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells dataset.
GDSC Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles cell lines with high or low expression of RFPL3 gene relative to other cell lines from the GDSC Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
GeneRIF Biological Term Annotations biological terms co-occuring with RFPL3 gene in literature-supported statements describing functions of genes from the GeneRIF Biological Term Annotations dataset.
GeneSigDB Published Gene Signatures PubMedIDs of publications reporting gene signatures containing RFPL3 from the GeneSigDB Published Gene Signatures dataset.
GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Diseases disease perturbations changing expression of RFPL3 gene from the GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Diseases dataset.
GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Gene Perturbations gene perturbations changing expression of RFPL3 gene from the GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Gene Perturbations dataset.
GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Kinase Perturbations kinase perturbations changing expression of RFPL3 gene from the GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Kinase Perturbations dataset.
GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules small molecule perturbations changing expression of RFPL3 gene from the GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules dataset.
GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Transcription Factor Perturbations transcription factor perturbations changing expression of RFPL3 gene from the GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Transcription Factor Perturbations dataset.
GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Viral Infections virus perturbations changing expression of RFPL3 gene from the GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Viral Infections dataset.
GO Biological Process Annotations 2023 biological processes involving RFPL3 gene from the curated GO Biological Process Annotations 2023 dataset.
GO Biological Process Annotations 2025 biological processes involving RFPL3 gene from the curated GO Biological Process Annotations2025 dataset.
GO Molecular Function Annotations 2015 molecular functions performed by RFPL3 gene from the curated GO Molecular Function Annotations 2015 dataset.
GO Molecular Function Annotations 2023 molecular functions performed by RFPL3 gene from the curated GO Molecular Function Annotations 2023 dataset.
GO Molecular Function Annotations 2025 molecular functions performed by RFPL3 gene from the curated GO Molecular Function Annotations 2025 dataset.
GTEx Tissue Gene Expression Profiles tissues with high or low expression of RFPL3 gene relative to other tissues from the GTEx Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
GTEx Tissue Gene Expression Profiles 2023 tissues with high or low expression of RFPL3 gene relative to other tissues from the GTEx Tissue Gene Expression Profiles 2023 dataset.
GWAS Catalog SNP-Phenotype Associations 2025 phenotypes associated with RFPL3 gene in GWAS datasets from the GWAS Catalog SNP-Phenotype Associations 2025 dataset.
Heiser et al., PNAS, 2011 Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles cell lines with high or low expression of RFPL3 gene relative to other cell lines from the Heiser et al., PNAS, 2011 Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
InterPro Predicted Protein Domain Annotations protein domains predicted for RFPL3 protein from the InterPro Predicted Protein Domain Annotations dataset.
JASPAR Predicted Human Transcription Factor Targets 2025 transcription factors regulating expression of RFPL3 gene predicted using known transcription factor binding site motifs from the JASPAR Predicted Human Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
JASPAR Predicted Transcription Factor Targets transcription factors regulating expression of RFPL3 gene predicted using known transcription factor binding site motifs from the JASPAR Predicted Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
Klijn et al., Nat. Biotechnol., 2015 Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles cell lines with high or low copy number of RFPL3 gene relative to other cell lines from the Klijn et al., Nat. Biotechnol., 2015 Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
LINCS L1000 CMAP Chemical Perturbation Consensus Signatures small molecule perturbations changing expression of RFPL3 gene from the LINCS L1000 CMAP Chemical Perturbations Consensus Signatures dataset.
LOCATE Predicted Protein Localization Annotations cellular components predicted to contain RFPL3 protein from the LOCATE Predicted Protein Localization Annotations dataset.
PerturbAtlas Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Gene Perturbations gene perturbations changing expression of RFPL3 gene from the PerturbAtlas Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Gene Perturbations dataset.
Roadmap Epigenomics Histone Modification Site Profiles histone modification site profiles with high histone modification abundance at RFPL3 gene from the Roadmap Epigenomics Histone Modification Site Profiles dataset.
RummaGEO Drug Perturbation Signatures drug perturbations changing expression of RFPL3 gene from the RummaGEO Drug Perturbation Signatures dataset.
RummaGEO Gene Perturbation Signatures gene perturbations changing expression of RFPL3 gene from the RummaGEO Gene Perturbation Signatures dataset.
TargetScan Predicted Nonconserved microRNA Targets microRNAs regulating expression of RFPL3 gene predicted using nonconserved miRNA seed sequences from the TargetScan Predicted Nonconserved microRNA Targets dataset.
TCGA Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Tumors tissue samples with high or low expression of RFPL3 gene relative to other tissue samples from the TCGA Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Tumors dataset.
TISSUES Curated Tissue Protein Expression Evidence Scores tissues with high expression of RFPL3 protein from the TISSUES Curated Tissue Protein Expression Evidence Scores dataset.
TISSUES Curated Tissue Protein Expression Evidence Scores 2025 tissues with high expression of RFPL3 protein from the TISSUES Curated Tissue Protein Expression Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
TISSUES Experimental Tissue Protein Expression Evidence Scores 2025 tissues with high expression of RFPL3 protein in proteomics datasets from the TISSUES Experimental Tissue Protein Expression Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
TISSUES Text-mining Tissue Protein Expression Evidence Scores tissues co-occuring with RFPL3 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the TISSUES Text-mining Tissue Protein Expression Evidence Scores dataset.
TISSUES Text-mining Tissue Protein Expression Evidence Scores 2025 tissues co-occuring with RFPL3 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the TISSUES Text-mining Tissue Protein Expression Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.