title: [TRAF4, a multifaceted protein involved in carcinoma progression].
abstract: Eukaryotic epithelial cells form a sheet of contiguous cells, called epithelium, by means of the establishment of well-developed junctional complexes. These junctional complexes ensure the cell cohesion in the tissue and separate the plasma membrane into an apical and a basolateral compartment. This apicobasal polarity, which is crucial for both the architecture and the function of epithelia, is mainly maintained by tight junctions (TJS). Indeed, TJS weakening or loss disrupts the integrity of the epithelium, a process participating to the formation and progression of carcinomas. It has recently been shown that TRAF4, a protein dynamically localized in TJS and commonly overexpressed in carcinomas, plays a variety of functions in tumor progression. Here, we review recent data implicating TRAF4 in carcinogenesis. First, the conserved TRAF proteins family will be presented, and then the molecular mechanism addressing TRAF4 to TJS which involves lipid binding by the TRAF domain will be described. The various roles of TRAF4 in carcinogenesis will be discussed. Finally, we will highlight the ability of all TRAF proteins to bind lipids and discuss its potential functional relevance.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC), Département de Génomique Fonctionnelle et Cancer, 1 rue Laurent Fries, 67404 Illkirch, France - Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), U 964, 67404 Illkirch, France - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), UMR 7104, 67404 Illkirch, France - Université de Strasbourg, 67404 Illkirch, France.
authors.forename: Adrien
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rousseau
authors.affiliation: Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC), Département de Génomique Fonctionnelle et Cancer, 1 rue Laurent Fries, 67404 Illkirch, France - Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), U 964, 67404 Illkirch, France - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), UMR 7104, 67404 Illkirch, France - Université de Strasbourg, 67404 Illkirch, France.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tomasetto
authors.affiliation: Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC), Département de Génomique Fonctionnelle et Cancer, 1 rue Laurent Fries, 67404 Illkirch, France - Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), U 964, 67404 Illkirch, France - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), UMR 7104, 67404 Illkirch, France - Université de Strasbourg, 67404 Illkirch, France.
authors.forename: Fabien
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Alpy
mesh_terms: D020816:Amino Acid Motifs; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D002451:Cell Compartmentation; D002465:Cell Movement; D016764:Cell Polarity / Q000502:physiology; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D018450:Disease Progression; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000473:pathology; D058750:Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition; D006801:Humans; D008563:Membrane Lipids / Q000378:metabolism; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D018129:Phosphatidylinositol Phosphates / Q000378:metabolism; D011487:Protein Conformation; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology; D053449:TNF Receptor-Associated Factor 4 / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D019108:Tight Junctions / Q000502:physiology; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000502:physiology; D047988:Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor-Associated Peptides and Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D008563:Membrane Lipids; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D018129:Phosphatidylinositol Phosphates; D053449:TNF Receptor-Associated Factor 4; C506367:TRAF4 protein, human; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; D047988:Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor-Associated Peptides and Proteins