PORCN (porcupine homolog – Drosophila) is a human
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 ...
.
The protein is homologous to other
membrane-bound O-acyltransferases.
Function
The
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 ...
encoded by this gene is an
endoplasmic reticulum
The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is, in essence, the transportation system of the eukaryotic cell, and has many other important functions such as protein folding. It is a type of organelle made up of two subunits – rough endoplasmic reticulum ( ...
transmembrane protein involved in processing of
wingless proteins such as
WNT7A
The Wnt signaling pathways are a group of signal transduction pathways which begin with proteins that pass signals into a cell through cell surface receptors. The name Wnt is a portmanteau created from the names Wingless and Int-1. Wnt signaling ...
. It performs O-
Palmitoleoylation
Palmitoleoylation is type of protein lipidation where the monounsaturated fatty acid palmitoleic acid is covalently attached to serine or threonine residues of proteins. Palmitoleoylation appears to play a significant role in trafficking and ta ...
of these proteins.
Clinical significance
Mutations in this gene are associated with
focal dermal hypoplasia
Focal dermal hypoplasia is a form of ectodermal dysplasia. It is a multisystem disorder characterized primarily by skin manifestations to the atrophic and hypoplastic areas of skin which are present at birth. These defects manifest as yellow-pink ...
.
Mutations in PORCN are associated to
Goltz-Gorlin syndrome
Nevoid basal-cell carcinoma syndrome (NBCCS) is an inherited medical condition involving defects within multiple body systems such as the skin, nervous system, eyes, endocrine system, and bones. People with this syndrome are particularly prone to ...
.
Ligands
Inhibitors
*
WNT974 (LGK-974) - 1243244-14-5, researched for anti-cancer effects in Wnt-pathway sensitive tumours. Also investigated for influencing cardiac tissue remodelling following infarction.
IWP (1-4)
RXC004
References
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