title: ARTS, the unusual septin: structural and functional aspects.
abstract: The human Septin 4 gene (Sept4) encodes two major protein isoforms; Sept4_i1 (H5/PNUTL2) and Sept4_i2/ARTS. Septins have been traditionally studied for their role in cytokinesis and their filament-forming abilities, but subsequently have been implicated in diverse functions, including membrane dynamics, cytoskeletal reorganization, vesicle trafficking, and tumorigenesis. ARTS is localized at mitochondria and promotes programmed cell death (apoptosis). These features distinguish ARTS from any other known human septin family member. This review compares the structural and functional properties of ARTS with other septins. In addition, it describes how a combination of two distinct promoters, differential splicing, and intron retention leads to the generation of two different Sept4 variants with diverse biological activity.
authors.affiliation: Computational Molecular Biology Laboratory, Faculty of Biology, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: Yael
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mandel-Gutfreund
authors.forename: Idit
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kosti
authors.forename: Sarit
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Larisch
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000378:metabolism; D020033:Protein Isoforms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D058112:Septins / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D020033:Protein Isoforms; C492027:SEPTIN4 protein, human; D058112:Septins