The KCTD family of proteins: structure, function, disease relevance

Zhepeng Liu; Yaqian Xiang; Guihong Sun

doi:10.1186/2045-3701-3-45

The KCTD family of proteins: structure, function, disease relevance

Cell Biosci. 2013 Nov 24;3(1):45. doi: 10.1186/2045-3701-3-45.

Authors

Zhepeng Liu^#¹, Yaqian Xiang^#², Guihong Sun¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, People's Republic of China.
² Jinchu University of Technology, No.33 xiangshan avenue, Jingmen 448000, People's Republic of China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

The family of potassium channel tetramerizationdomain (KCTD) proteins consists of 26 members with mostly unknown functions. The name of the protein family is due to the sequence similarity between the conserved N-terminal region of KCTD proteins and the tetramerization domain in some voltage-gated potassium channels. Dozens of publications suggest that KCTD proteins have roles in various biological processes and diseases. In this review, we summarize the character of Bric-a-brack,Tram-track, Broad complex(BTB) of KCTD proteins, their roles in the ubiquitination pathway, and the roles of KCTD mutants in diseases. Furthermore, we review potential downstream signaling pathways and discuss future studies that should be performed.