Dickkopf-related protein 3 is a

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...

in the

Dickkopf Dickkopf (DKK) is a family of proteins consisting of five members as of 2020. The most well-studied is Dickkopf-related protein 1 (DKK1). DKK proteins inhibit the Wnt signaling pathway coreceptors LRP5 and LRP6. They bind with high affinity as ...

family that in humans is encoded by the ''DKK3''

gene In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...

. This gene encodes a protein that is a member of the dickkopf family. The secreted protein contains two

cysteine Cysteine (symbol Cys or C; ) is a semiessential proteinogenic amino acid with the formula . The thiol side chain in cysteine often participates in enzymatic reactions as a nucleophile. When present as a deprotonated catalytic residue, sometime ...

rich regions and is involved in

embryo An embryo is an initial stage of development of a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male spe ...

nic development through its interactions with the Wnt signaling pathway. The expression of this gene is decreased in a variety of

cancer cell Cancer cells are cells that divide continually, forming solid tumors or flooding the blood with abnormal cells. Cell division is a normal process used by the body for growth and repair. A parent cell divides to form two daughter cells, and these d ...

lines and it may function as a

tumor suppressor A tumor suppressor gene (TSG), or anti-oncogene, is a gene that regulates a cell during cell division and replication. If the cell grows uncontrollably, it will result in cancer. When a tumor suppressor gene is mutated, it results in a loss or red ...

gene. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants encoding the same protein.

References

Further reading