Gene Section Mini Review Atlas Genet Cytogenet Oncol Haematol. 2009; 13(8) 576 Atlas of Genetics and Cytogenetics in Oncology and Haematology OPEN ACCESS JOURNAL AT INIST-CNRS USP7 (ubiquitin specific peptidase 7 (herpes virus- associated)) Kwang-Hyun Baek, Suresh Ramakrishna Laboratory of Molecular Signal Transduction, Graduate School of Life Science and Biotechnology, Cell and Gene Therapy Research Institute, Pochon CHA university, CHA General Hospital, Seoul, Korea (KHB, SR) Published in Atlas Database: September 2008 Online updated version : http://AtlasGeneticsOncology.org/Genes/USP7ID42773ch16p13.html DOI: 10.4267/2042/44538 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 France Licence. © 2009 Atlas of Genetics and Cytogenetics in Oncology and Haematology Identity Other names: EC 3.1.2.15; HAUSP; TEF1 HGNC (Hugo): USP7 Location: 16p13.3 Local order: Gene is located on Chromosome 16 at 8, 894, 851-8, 964, 842. Note: Identified by its binding ability with Herpes simplex virus type 1 immediate-early protein Vmw 110 and Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen-1. DNA/RNA Description Consists of 31 exons with a total transcription length of 4,013 bps. Transcription The coding region of the gene starts from exon 1 to exon 31 (200 th bps to 3508 th bps). The length of the transcript is 3308 bps. Pseudogene None. Protein Description HAUSP encodes for 1102 amino acids and its molecular weight is approximately 135 kDa. MALDI- TOF/MS analysis has revealed four structural domains which are mainly involved in protein-protein interaction and deubiquitination activity. N-terminal MATH (TRAF-like) domain (62-205 aa) represented in brown colour is responsible for interaction with p53, MDM2 and EBNA1. N-terminal domain of USP7 complexed with Mdm2 at peptide 147-150 and with p53 at position 359-362 and 364-367 respectively. Ubiquitin processing protease domain represented in yellow colour is a large family of cysteine proteases responsible for the cleavage of ubiquitin conjugates. Catalytic domain consists of approximately 350 amino acids, comprising three conserved domain architectures Finger, Palm, and Thumb. It has highly conserved Cys, Asp(I), His, and Asn/Asp(II) domains, which are responsible for deubiquitination activities.