Tuyển tập các báo cáo nghiên cứu về y học được đăng trên tạp chí y học Wertheim cung cấp cho các bạn kiến thức về ngành y đề tài: The Frizzled family: receptors for multiple signal transduction pathways. | Protein family review The Frizzled family receptors for multiple signal transduction pathways Hui-Chuan Huang and Peter S Klein Addresses Department of Medicine and THoward Hughes Medical Institute University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine 415 Curie Blvd. Philadelphia PA 19104-6148 USA. Correspondence Peter S Klein. E-mail pklein@ Published 14 June 2004 Genome Biology 2004 5 234 The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at http 2004 5 7 234 2004 BioMed Central Ltd Summary Frizzled genes encode integral membrane proteins that function in multiple signal transduction pathways. They have been identified in diverse animals from sponges to humans. The family is defined by conserved structural features including seven hydrophobic domains and a cysteine-rich ligand-binding domain. Frizzled proteins are receptors for secreted Wnt proteins as well as other ligands and also play a critical role in the regulation of cell polarity. Frizzled genes are essential for embryonic development tissue and cell polarity formation of neural synapses and the regulation of proliferation and many other processes in developing and adult organisms mutations in human frizzled-4 have been linked to familial exudative vitreoretinopathy. It is not yet clear how Frizzleds couple to downstream effectors and this is a focus of intense study. Gene organization and evolutionary history The frizzled genes were first identified in Drosophila in a screen for mutations that disrupt the polarity of epidermal cells in the adult fly 1 . Subsequently frizzleds have been found in diverse metazoans 2 including at least ten in vertebrates four in Drosophila and three in Caenorhabditis elegans. Friz-zleds have also been identified in primitive metazoans including the sponge Suberites domuncula 3 and in Hydra vulgaris 4 but they have not been described in protozoans. They have been shown to encode receptors for Wnt proteins 5 . The .
