The HIRA protein shares sequence similarity with Hir1p
and Hir2p, the two corepressors of histone gene transcription
characterized in the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The
structural features of the HIRA protein suggest that it may
function as part of a multiprotein complex. Recently, several
cDNAs encoding HIRA-interacting proteins, or HIRIPs, have been
identified. In vitro, the HIRIP3 gene product binds HIRA, as well
as H2B and H3 core histones, indicating that a complex containing
HIRA-HIRIP3 could function in some aspects of chromatin and histone
metabolism.
