WD Repeat Containing Domain Protein 49 (WDR49)

WD-repeats are motifs that are found in a variety of proteins and are characterized by a conserved core of 40-60 amino acids, which commonly form a tertiary propeller structure. While proteins that contain WD-repeats participate in a wide range of cellular functions, they are generally involved in regulatory mechanisms involving signal transduction, apoptosis, transcriptional regulation and cell cycle control. WD repeats serve as sites for protein-protein interaction and some seem to mediate the assembly of protein complexes. Containing eight WD repeats, WDR49 is a 697 amino acid protein that is alternatively expressed as two isoforms. The gene encoding WDR49 maps to human chromosome 3, which is made up of about 214 million bases encoding over 1,100 genes, including a chemokine receptor gene cluster and a variety of human cancer-related gene loci.