Specific structure and unique function define the hemicentin

Xuehong Xu, Meng Meng Xu, Xin Zhou, Odell B. Jones, Edward Moharomd, Yuexin Pan, Guifang Yan, Donald D. Anthony, Williams B. Isaacs

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

24 Scopus citations

Abstract

Hemicentin has come a long way from when it was first identified in C. elegans as him-4 (High incidence of males). The protein is now a recognized player in maintaining the architectural integrity of vertebrate tissues and organs. Highly conserved hemicentin sequences across species indicate this gene's ancient evolutionary roots and functional importance. In mouse, hemicentin is liberally distributed on the cell surface of many cell types, including epithelial cells, endothelial cells of the eye, lung, and uterus, and trophectodermal cells of blastocyst. Recent discoveries have uncovered yet another vital purpose of hemicentin 1. The protein also serves a unique function in mitotic cytokinesis, during which this extracellular matrix protein plays a key role in cleavage furrow maturation. Though understanding of hemicentin function has improved through new discoveries, much about this protein remains mysterious.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number27
JournalCell and Bioscience
Volume3
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 26 2013

Keywords

  • Cell division
  • Embryogenesis
  • Extracellular matrix (ECM)
  • Fibulin
  • Hemicentin
  • Mitosis
  • Tissue/Organ architecture

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)

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