U2 small nuclear RNA auxiliary factor 1


Splicing factor U2AF 35 kDa subunit is a protein that in humans is encoded by the U2AF1 gene.

Function

This gene belongs to the splicing factor SR family of genes. U2 auxiliary factor, comprising a large and a small subunit, is a non-snRNP protein required for the binding of U2 snRNP to the pre-mRNA branch site. This gene encodes the small subunit which plays a critical role in both constitutive and enhancer-dependent RNA splicing by directly mediating interactions between the large subunit and proteins bound to the enhancers. Alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been identified. Somatic mutations in U2AF1 have been found in a range of human cancers, with a distinctive pattern of these mutations at the zinc fingers implicating a functional role under selection. In lung cancers, these mutations affect alternative splicing of several transcripts, including oncogenic ROS1 fusions.

Interactions

U2 small nuclear RNA auxiliary factor 1 has been shown to interact with: