New Ligand Binding Function of Human Cerberus and Role of Proteolytic Processing in Regulating Ligand-Receptor Interactions and Antagonist Activity.

ABSTRACT: Cerberus is a key regulator of vertebrate embryogenesis. Its biological function has been studied extensively in frog and mouse embryos. Its ability to bind and antagonize the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) family ligand Nodal is well established. Strikingly, the molecular function of Cerberus remains poorly understood. The underlying reason is that Cerberus is a complex, multifunctional protein: It binds and inhibits multiple TGF-β family ligands, it may bind and inhibit some Wnt family members, and two different forms with distinct activities have been described. In addition, sequence homology between frog and mammalian Cerberus is low, suggesting that previous studies, which analyzed frog Cerberus function, may not accurately describe the function of mammalian Cerberus. We therefo

SUBMITTER: Aykul S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7739268 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature