WWOX
Encyclopedia
WW domain-containing oxidoreductase is an enzyme
that in humans is encoded by the WWOX gene
.
-containing proteins are found in all eukaryotes and play an important role in the regulation of a wide variety of cellular functions such as protein degradation, transcription, and RNA splicing. This gene encodes a protein which contains 2 WW domains and a short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase domain (SRD). The highest normal expression of this gene is detected in hormonally regulated tissues such as testis, ovary, and prostate. This expression pattern and the presence of an SRD domain suggest a role for this gene in steroid metabolism. The encoded protein is more than 90% identical to the mouse protein, which is an essential mediator of tumor necrosis factor-alpha-induced apoptosis, suggesting a similar, important role in apoptosis for the human protein. In addition, there is evidence that this gene behaves as a suppressor of tumor growth. Alternative splicing of this gene generates transcript variants that encode different isoforms.
WWOX is also known as human accelerated region
6. It may, therefore, have played a key role in differentiating humans from apes.
Enzyme
Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process, called substrates, are converted into different molecules, called products. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates...
that in humans is encoded by the WWOX gene
Gene
A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...
.
Function
WW domainWW domain
The WW domain is a protein domain with two highly conserved tryptophans that binds proline-rich peptide motifs...
-containing proteins are found in all eukaryotes and play an important role in the regulation of a wide variety of cellular functions such as protein degradation, transcription, and RNA splicing. This gene encodes a protein which contains 2 WW domains and a short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase domain (SRD). The highest normal expression of this gene is detected in hormonally regulated tissues such as testis, ovary, and prostate. This expression pattern and the presence of an SRD domain suggest a role for this gene in steroid metabolism. The encoded protein is more than 90% identical to the mouse protein, which is an essential mediator of tumor necrosis factor-alpha-induced apoptosis, suggesting a similar, important role in apoptosis for the human protein. In addition, there is evidence that this gene behaves as a suppressor of tumor growth. Alternative splicing of this gene generates transcript variants that encode different isoforms.
WWOX is also known as human accelerated region
Human accelerated regions
Human accelerated regions , first described in August 2006, are a set of 49 segments of the human genome which are conserved throughout vertebrate evolution but are strikingly different in humans. They are named HAR1 through HAR49 according to their degree of difference between humans and chimpanzees...
6. It may, therefore, have played a key role in differentiating humans from apes.