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PROSITE documentation PDOC50211 |
The tripartite DENN (after differentially expressed in neoplastic versus normal cells) domain is found in several proteins that share common structural features and have been shown to be guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) for Rab GTPases, which are regulators of practically all membrane trafficking events in eukaryotes. The tripartite DENN domain is composed of three distinct modules which are always associated due to functional and/or structural constraints: upstream DENN or uDENN, the better conserved central or core or cDENN, and downstream or dDENN regions. The tripartite DENN domain is found associated with other domains, such as RUN (see <PDOC50826>), PLAT (see <PDOC50095>), PH (see <PDOC50003>), PPR, WD-40 (see <PDOC00574>), GRAM or C1 (see <PDOC00379>). The function of DENN domain remains to date unclear, although it appears to represent a good candidate for a GTP/GDP exchange activity [1,2,3,4,5].
Some proteins known to contain a tripartite DENN domain are listed below:
The DENN domain forms a heart-shaped structure (see <PDB:3TW8>), with the N-terminal residues forming one and the C-terminal residues forming the second one. The N-terminal half forms the uDENN domain and consists of a central antiparallel β-sheet layered between one helix and two helices. A long random-coil region links the two lobes. The C-terminal lobe is composed of the cDENN and dDENN domains. The cDENN domain is an α/β three layered sandwich domain with a central sheet of 5-strands. The dDENN domain is an all-α helical domain, whose core contains two α-hairpins which diverge rapidly in sequence [3,5].
Divergent types of the tripartite DENN domain have also been detected in other protein families [4]:
We developed both a profile that covers the entire tripartite DENN domains and profiles covering the entire more divergent types of DENN domains.
Last update:May 2017 / Text and profile revised; profiles removed; profiles added.
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PROSITE methods (with tools and information) covered by this documentation:
1 | Authors | Levivier E. Goud B. Souchet M. Calmels T.P.G. Mornon J.-P. Callebaut I. |
Title | uDENN, DENN, and dDENN: indissociable domains in Rab and MAP kinases signaling pathways. | |
Source | Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 287:688-695(2001). | |
PubMed ID | 11563850 | |
DOI | 10.1006/bbrc.2001.5652 |
2 | Authors | Semova N. Kapanadze B. Corcoran M. Kutsenko A. Baranova A. Semov A. |
Title | Molecular cloning, structural analysis, and expression of a human IRLB, MYC promoter-binding protein: new DENN domain-containing protein family emerges small star, filled. | |
Source | Genomics 82:343-354(2003). | |
PubMed ID | 12906859 |
3 | Authors | Wu X. Bradley M.J. Cai Y. Kuemmel D. De La Cruz E.M. Barr F.A. Reinisch K.M. |
Title | Insights regarding guanine nucleotide exchange from the structure of a DENN-domain protein complexed with its Rab GTPase substrate. | |
Source | Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 108:18672-18677(2011). | |
PubMed ID | 22065758 | |
DOI | 10.1073/pnas.1110415108 |
4 | Authors | Zhang D. Iyer L.M. He F. Aravind L. |
Title | Discovery of Novel DENN Proteins: Implications for the Evolution of Eukaryotic Intracellular Membrane Structures and Human Disease. | |
Source | Front. Genet. 3:283-283(2012). | |
PubMed ID | 23248642 | |
DOI | 10.3389/fgene.2012.00283 |
5 | Authors | Nookala R.K. Langemeyer L. Pacitto A. Ochoa-Montano B. Donaldson J.C. Blaszczyk B.K. Chirgadze D.Y. Barr F.A. Bazan J.F. Blundell T.L. |
Title | Crystal structure of folliculin reveals a hidDENN function in genetically inherited renal cancer. | |
Source | Open Biol. 2:120071-120071(2012). | |
PubMed ID | 22977732 | |
DOI | 10.1098/rsob.120071 |