| Modification Notes |
The adenomatous polyposis coli gene (APC) is mutated in familial adenomatous polyposis and in sporadic colorectal tumors. Familial adenomatous polyposis is a dominantly inherited disease characterized by multiple adenomatous polyps in the colon The human full-length Asef cDNA encodes a protein of 619 amino acids with motifs found in the Dbl family of proteins. The APC gene product binds through its armadillo repeat domain to a Rac-specific guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF), termed APC-stimulated guanine nucleotide exchange factor (Asef). Endogenous APC has been shown to co-localize with Asef in mouse colon epithelial cells and neuronal cells. Furthermore, APC has been shown to enhance the GEF activity of Asef and stimulate Asef-mediated cell flattening, membrane ruffling and lamellipodia formation in MDCK cells, suggesting that the APC-Asef complex may regulate the actin cytoskeletal network, cell morphology and migration, and neuronal function. Full-length APC protein is located in both the membrane/cytoskeletal and the nuclear fractions . |