Carm1: Products

Carm1 (Coactivator-associated arginine methyltransferase 1; also PRMT4) is a 60-64 kDa member of the Arg N-methyltransferase family of enzymes. It is ubiquitously expressed, and found in the cytoplasm during mitosis, and in the nucleus during the G1, G2 and S phases of the cell cycle. Carm1 binds to nuclear receptor p160 family coactivators. When bound, it methylates DNA-associated histone H3 arginines, allowing for chromatin remodeling and gene activation. It also plays a role in pre-mRNA splicing through its methylation of splicing factors, and regulates the stability of RNA-binding proteins. Human Carm1 is 608 amino acids (aa) in length. It contains one catalytic site between aa 184-394, and a transactivation domain at the C-terminus (aa 499-608). There is one automethylation site at Arg550, and a phosphorylation site at Ser216 that, when utilized, promotes cytosolic localization. Carm1 likely forms homodimers. There are three potential isoform variants. One shows an alternative start site at Met378, a second possesses a 16 aa substitution for aa 369-608, and a third contains a deletion of aa 539-561. Over aa 209-379, human and mouse Carm1 are identical in aa sequence.