RNF38 Gene

HGNC Family	Zinc fingers
Name	ring finger protein 38
Description	This gene encodes a protein with a coiled-coil motif and a RING-H2 motif (C3H2C2) at its carboxy-terminus. The RING motif is a zinc-binding domain found in a large set of proteins playing roles in diverse cellular processes including oncogenesis, development, signal transduction, and apoptosis. Multiple transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Dec 2008]
Summary	{"type": "root", "children": [{"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\nRNF38 is a RING finger protein that functions as an E3 ubiquitin ligase. Initial studies revealed that the RNF38 gene product localizes to the nucleus via a bipartite nuclear localization sequence and directly binds to p53, enabling its ubiquitination and inducing its relocalization to discrete nuclear foci associated with PML nuclear bodies. These findings suggest that RNF38 plays a role in modulating p53 stability and function through ubiquitin-mediated pathways."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "1"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ""}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n\n"}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\nFurther investigations in cancer models have begun to uncover an oncogenic role for RNF38. In gastric cancer, elevated RNF38 levels correlate with poor patient survival. Mechanistic studies indicate that RNF38 can interact with the tyrosine phosphatase SHP-1, promoting its polyubiquitination and subsequent destabilization. This destabilization of SHP-1 contributes to enhanced STAT3 signaling, thereby fostering cancer cell growth. Functional experiments further demonstrated that manipulating RNF38 expression in gastric cancer cells modulated tumor cell proliferation both in vitro and in vivo, highlighting its potential as a therapeutic target."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "2"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ""}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n\n"}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\nAdditional reports have implicated RNF38 as an emerging driver of cancer progression in other malignancies. Although its precise oncogenic mechanisms in contexts such as nasopharyngeal carcinoma remain to be fully elucidated, these studies collectively position RNF38 as a multifaceted regulator—with its E3 ligase activity affecting pivotal proteins like p53 and its ability to modulate signaling pathways such as STAT3—that may contribute to tumorigenesis and represent a promising target for anticancer strategies."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "3"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ""}]}, {"type": "rg", "children": [{"type": "r", "ref": 1, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Jamie E Sheren, C Kenneth Kassenbrock "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "RNF38 encodes a nuclear ubiquitin protein ligase that modifies p53."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Biochem Biophys Res Commun (2013)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.bbrc.2013.08.031"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbrc.2013.08.031"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "23973461"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23973461"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 2, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Jigang Zhang, Hao Wu, Bin Yi, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "RING finger protein 38 induces gastric cancer cell growth by decreasing the stability of the protein tyrosine phosphatase SHP-1."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "FEBS Lett (2018)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1002/1873-3468.13225"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1002/1873-3468.13225"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "30112836"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30112836"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 3, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Rui Peng, Peng-Fei Zhang, Xuan Yang, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Overexpression of RNF38 facilitates TGF-β signaling by Ubiquitinating and degrading AHNAK in hepatocellular carcinoma."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Exp Clin Cancer Res (2019)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1186/s13046-019-1113-3"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1186/s13046-019-1113-3"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "30836988"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30836988"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 4, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cheng Lin, Meifang Li, Na Lin, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "RNF38 suppress growth and metastasis via ubiquitination of ACTN4 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "BMC Cancer (2022)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1186/s12885-022-09641-x"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-022-09641-x"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "35568845"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35568845"}]}]}]}
Proteins	RNF38_HUMAN
NCBI Gene ID	152006
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Predicted Functions
Co-expressed Genes
Expression in Tissues and Cell Lines

Functional Associations

RNF38 has 6,023 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 107 datasets.

Click the + buttons to view associations for RNF38 from the datasets below.

If available, associations are ranked by standardized value

Harmonizome 3.0

RNF38 Gene

Functional Associations

Please acknowledge the Harmonizome in your publications by citing the following reference(s):

	Dataset	Summary
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of RNF38 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of RNF38 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse 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 RNF38 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 RNF38 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 RNF38 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 RNF38 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 RNF38 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 RNF38 gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of RNF38 gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Carcinogenome Chemical Perturbation Carcinogenicity Signatures	small molecule perturbations changing expression of RNF38 gene from the Carcinogenome Chemical Perturbation Carcinogenicity Signatures dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of RNF38 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 RNF38 gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations	cell types associated with RNF38 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 RNF38 gene from the CHEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of RNF38 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 RNF38 gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022 dataset.
	CM4AI KOLF21J CRISPRi Gene Perturbation Atlas	gene perturbations changing expression of RNF38 gene from the CM4AI KOLF21J CRISPRi Gene Perturbation Atlas dataset.
	CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules	small molecule perturbations changing expression of RNF38 gene from the CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components containing RNF38 protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Experimental Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components containing RNF38 protein in low- or high-throughput protein localization assays from the COMPARTMENTS Experimental Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components co-occuring with RNF38 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components co-occuring with RNF38 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of RNF38 gene relative to other cell lines from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles	cell lines with RNF38 gene mutations from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles dataset.
	CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions	chemicals interacting with RNF38 gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions dataset.
	CTD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with RNF38 gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency	cell lines with fitness changed by RNF38 gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores	diseases co-occuring with RNF38 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 RNF38 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 RNF38 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Phenotype Associations	phenotypes associated with RNF38 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Phenoptype Associations dataset.
	ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles	histone modification site profiles with high histone modification abundance at RNF38 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 RNF38 gene from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of RNF38 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 RNF38 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 RNF38 gene relative to other cell lines from the GDSC Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	GeneRIF Biological Term Annotations	biological terms co-occuring with RNF38 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 RNF38 from the GeneSigDB Published Gene Signatures dataset.
	GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Diseases	disease perturbations changing expression of RNF38 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 RNF38 gene from the GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Gene Perturbations dataset.