WD repeat-containing protein 62 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, res ...

that in humans is encoded by the ''WDR62''

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 b ...

Function

WDR62 is a scaffold protein and interacts with different kinases. WDR62 plays a role in mediating activation of the

JNK c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNKs), were originally identified as kinases that bind and phosphorylate c-Jun on Ser-63 and Ser-73 within its transcriptional activation domain. They belong to the mitogen-activated protein kinase family, and ar ...

pathway in response to TNFα. This finding might have implications in the research of TNFα related diseases such as autoimmune diseases and cancer. It has been also shown that WDR62 upregulation can lead to overproliferation of glia cells and potentially glioma and this is coupled with an upregulation in

AURKA Aurora kinase A also known as serine/threonine-protein kinase 6 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''AURKA'' gene. Aurora A is a member of a family of mitotic serine/threonine kinases. It is implicated with important processes during m ...

, AKT,

MYC ''Myc'' is a family of regulator genes and proto-oncogenes that code for transcription factors. The ''Myc'' family consists of three related human genes: ''c-myc'' (MYC), ''l-myc'' ( MYCL), and ''n-myc'' (MYCN). ''c-myc'' (also sometimes refe ...

and

PI3K Phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3Ks), also called phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases, are a family of enzymes involved in cellular functions such as cell growth, proliferation, differentiation, motility, survival and intracellular trafficking, which i ...

signalling. WDR62 effect on neurogenesis is regulated by MEKK3 in coordination with FBW7 (F-box and WD repeat domain-containing protein 7). WDR62 has been shown to have a regulatory role on hippocampus development and neurogenesis. WDR62 is also involved in male spermatogenesis with an essential role in centriole duplication and manchette removal during the spermatogenesis process. The deficiency of WDR62 results in low sperm counts with defected motility, and abnormal morphology.

Clinical significance

Mutations in the WDR62 gene cause of a wide spectrum of severe cerebral cortical malformations including

microcephaly Microcephaly (from New Latin ''microcephalia'', from Ancient Greek μικρός ''mikrós'' "small" and κεφαλή ''kephalé'' "head") is a medical condition involving a smaller-than-normal head. Microcephaly may be present at birth or it ...

pachygyria Pachygyria (from the Greek "pachy" meaning "thick" or "fat" gyri) is a congenital malformation of the cerebral hemisphere. It results in unusually thick convolutions of the cerebral cortex. Typically, children have developmental delay and seizures, ...

with cortical thickening, hypoplasia of the corpus callosum,

polymicrogyria Polymicrogyria (PMG) is a condition that affects the development of the human brain by multiple small gyri ( microgyri) creating excessive folding of the brain leading to an abnormally thick cortex. This abnormality can affect either one region o ...

as well as

microlissencephaly Microlissencephaly (MLIS) is a rare congenital brain disorder that combines severe microcephaly (small head) with lissencephaly (smooth brain surface due to absent sulci and gyri). Microlissencephaly is a heterogeneous disorder, i.e. it has many d ...

. Cortical malformation, associated with WDR62 point mutations occurring in humans (V65M and R438H) has been linked to ciliopathies. These WDR62 point mutations drive ciliary disruption in

Radial glial cell Radial glial cells, or radial glial progenitor cells (RGPs), are bipolar-shaped progenitor cells that are responsible for producing all of the neurons in the cerebral cortex. RGPs also produce certain lineages of glia, including astrocytes and ...

via disrupting the cilia and

centrosome In cell biology, the centrosome (Latin centrum 'center' + Greek sōma 'body') (archaically cytocentre) is an organelle that serves as the main microtubule organizing center (MTOC) of the animal cell, as well as a regulator of cell-cycle prog ...

localization of CENPJ and the

Intraflagellar transport Intraflagellar transport (IFT) is a bidirectional motility along axoneme microtubules that is essential for the formation (ciliogenesis) and maintenance of most eukaryotic cilia and flagella. It is thought to be required to build all cilia that ass ...

protein 88 (

IFT88 Intraflagellar transport protein 88 homolog is a protein that is encoded by the ''IFT88'' gene. Function This gene encodes a member of the tetratrico peptide repeat (TPR) family. Mutations of a similar gene in mouse can cause polycystic kidney ...

), which are required for tubulin requitment to centrosome and transport of tubulin to the cilia tip, respectively.

Function

Clinical significance

References

Further reading