| Description |
The Rhomboid family of proteins is made up of several widely conserved polytopic membrane serine proteases that play roles in growth and development. RHBDD3 was initially identified as a novel pituitary tumor apoptosis gene (PTAG) whose expression was reduced in certain pituitary adenomas. Overexpression of RHBDD3 in AtT20 cells showed an increase in apoptotic activity and caspase activation in response to bromocriptine, and apoptosis-inducing dopamine D2 analog, suggesting that reactivation of RHBDD3 in tumors may be a therapeutically useful tool. Later experiments also showed that RHBDD3 expression is also reduced in several primary colorectal tumors, indicating that loss of RHBDD3 contributes to a blunted apoptotic response and probably predisposes cells towards malignant transformation.
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