The 14‐3‐3 proteins constitute a family of abundant, highly conserved and broadly expressed acidic polypeptides. One member of this family, the 14‐3‐3σ isoform {sigma}, is expressed only in epithelial cells and is frequently down‐regulated in a variety of human cancers and plays a role in the cellular response to DNA damage. The 14‐3‐3s generally form heterodimers with other family members, but 14‐3‐3σ preferentially forms homodimers in cells. Three amino acids that are completely conserved in all other 14‐3‐3s, are not present in 14‐3‐3σ. These amino acids unique to 14‐3‐3σ confer a second ligand‐binding site involved in 14‐3‐3σ‐specific ligand discrimination.
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© 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg New York
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(2008). 14‐3‐3σ. In: Offermanns, S., Rosenthal, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Molecular Pharmacology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-38918-7_5001
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-38918-7_5001
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-38916-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-38918-7
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