Caught in the act - protein adaptation and the expanding roles of the PACS proteins in tissue homeostasis and disease.

ABSTRACT: Vertebrate proteins that fulfill multiple and seemingly disparate functions are increasingly recognized as vital solutions to maintaining homeostasis in the face of the complex cell and tissue physiology of higher metazoans. However, the molecular adaptations that underpin this increased functionality remain elusive. In this Commentary, we review the PACS proteins - which first appeared in lower metazoans as protein traffic modulators and evolved in vertebrates to integrate cytoplasmic protein traffic and interorganellar communication with nuclear gene expression - as examples of protein adaptation 'caught in the act'. Vertebrate PACS-1 and PACS-2 increased their functional density and roles as metabolic switches by acquiring phosphorylation sites and nuclear trafficking signals within dis

SUBMITTER: Thomas G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5482974 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature