14-3-3 protein

14-3-3 proteins are a family of conserved regulatory molecules expressed in all eukaryotic cells. 14-3-3 proteins have the ability to bind a multitude of functionally diverse signaling proteins, including kinases, phosphatases, and transmembrane receptors. More than 100 signaling proteins have been reported as 14-3-3 ligands.

The name 14-3-3 refers to the particular elution and migration pattern of these proteins on DEAE-cellulose chromatography and starch-gel electrophoresis. The 14-3-3 proteins eluted in the 14th fraction of bovine brain homogenate and were found on positions 3.3 of subsequent electrophoresis by Moore and Perez (1967).

Elevated amounts of 14-3-3 proteins are found in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

Properties of 14-3-3 proteins

There are seven genes that encode 14-3-3s in most mammals and 13-15 genes in many higher plants, though typically in fungi they are present only in pairs. Protists have at least one. Eukaryotes can tolerate the loss of an 14-3-3 isoform if multiple isoforms are present, however deletion of all 14-3-3s (as experimentally determined in yeast) results in death.

14-3-3 proteins can be considered evolved members of the Tetratrico Peptide Repeat (TPR) superfamily, generally have 9 or 10 alpha helices, and usually form homo- and/or hetero-dimer interactions along their amino-termini helices. These proteins contain a number of known common modification...
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