| 14-3-3 protein is a highly conserved acidic protein family which was first discovered by Moore and Pretz in brain tissue in 1968. The peculiar name 14-3-3 , was given to this family of protein due to their components on DEAE-cellulose chromatogram and characteristic migration rates on scratch-gel electrophoresis. 14-3-3 proteins belong to a family consisting of highly conserved acidic proteins ,with molecular weighs of 25-30KD and an isoelectric point of 4-5. It is clear now that they can exist in a wide range of eukaryotic organisms including amphibians, insects, yeast and higher plants. They can interact with over 200 target proteins by phosphoserine-dependent and phosphoserine-independent manners. The important consequences of these interactions include alteration of enzymatic activity inhibition or promotion of protein interactions,and enhanced post-translational modifications such as phosphorylation. Therefore, 14-3-3 is involved in many different cellular processes, including mitogenesis,cellular trafficking and transport,cell division,cell cycle control,apoptosis and oncogenesis.So it is worthwhile to study the function and mechanism of 14-3-3 protein and it is the subject of ongoing srudies.Meanwhile, it has shown 14-3-3 proteins play an active role in delaying and suppressing apoptosis and there are several lines of evidence indicating that 14-3-3 acts as a tumor suppressor gene and that its inactivation is crucial in tumorigenesis. These results are encouraging and show that in principle inhibition of 14-3-3/ligand interactions could be a useful therapeutic strategy for the treatment of cancer.
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