DCTN3 explained

Dynactin subunit 3 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the DCTN3 gene.^{[1] [2] [3]}

This gene encodes the smallest subunit of dynactin, a macromolecular complex consisting of 10 subunits ranging in size from 22 to 150 kD. Dynactin binds to both microtubules and cytoplasmic dynein. It is involved in a diverse array of cellular functions, including ER-to-Golgi transport, the centripetal movement of lysosomes and endosomes, spindle formation, cytokinesis, chromosome movement, nuclear positioning, and axonogenesis. This subunit, like most other dynactin subunits, exists only as a part of the dynactin complex. It is primarily an alpha-helical protein with very little coiled coil, and binds directly to the largest subunit (p150) of dynactin. Alternative splicing of this gene generates 2 transcript variants.

Further reading

• Karki S, Tokito MK, Holzbaur EL . A dynactin subunit with a highly conserved cysteine-rich motif interacts directly with Arp1. . J. Biol. Chem. . 275 . 7 . 4834–9 . 2000 . 10671518 . 10.1074/jbc.275.7.4834 . free .
• Strausberg RL, Feingold EA, Grouse LH . Generation and initial analysis of more than 15,000 full-length human and mouse cDNA sequences. . Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. . 99 . 26 . 16899–903 . 2003 . 12477932 . 10.1073/pnas.242603899 . 139241 . 2002PNAS...9916899M . etal. free .
• Lehner B, Semple JI, Brown SE . Analysis of a high-throughput yeast two-hybrid system and its use to predict the function of intracellular proteins encoded within the human MHC class III region. . Genomics . 83 . 1 . 153–67 . 2004 . 14667819 . 10.1016/S0888-7543(03)00235-0 . etal.
• Ota T, Suzuki Y, Nishikawa T . Complete sequencing and characterization of 21,243 full-length human cDNAs. . Nat. Genet. . 36 . 1 . 40–5 . 2004 . 14702039 . 10.1038/ng1285 . etal. free .
• Humphray SJ, Oliver K, Hunt AR . DNA sequence and analysis of human chromosome 9. . Nature . 429 . 6990 . 369–74 . 2004 . 15164053 . 10.1038/nature02465 . 2734081 . 2004Natur.429..369H . etal.
• Gerhard DS, Wagner L, Feingold EA . The status, quality, and expansion of the NIH full-length cDNA project: the Mammalian Gene Collection (MGC). . Genome Res. . 14 . 10B . 2121–7 . 2004 . 15489334 . 10.1101/gr.2596504 . 528928 . etal.
• Rual JF, Venkatesan K, Hao T . Towards a proteome-scale map of the human protein-protein interaction network. . Nature . 437 . 7062 . 1173–8 . 2005 . 16189514 . 10.1038/nature04209 . 2005Natur.437.1173R . 4427026 . etal.
• Lim J, Hao T, Shaw C . A protein-protein interaction network for human inherited ataxias and disorders of Purkinje cell degeneration. . Cell . 125 . 4 . 801–14 . 2006 . 16713569 . 10.1016/j.cell.2006.03.032 . 13709685 . etal. free .

Notes and References

1. Karki S, LaMonte B, Holzbaur EL . Characterization of the p22 subunit of dynactin reveals the localization of cytoplasmic dynein and dynactin to the midbody of dividing cells . J Cell Biol . 142 . 4 . 1023–34 . Sep 1998 . 9722614 . 2132867 . 10.1083/jcb.142.4.1023 .
2. Mills DR, Jackson CL . Assignment of p22 dynactin light chain (DCTN3) to human chromosome region 9p13 by radiation hybrid mapping . Cytogenet Cell Genet . 92 . 1–2 . 166 . Apr 2001 . 11306820 . 10.1159/000056892 . 84893310 .
3. Web site: Entrez Gene: DCTN3 dynactin 3 (p22).