What does the PTCH gene do?

Function. PTCH1 is a member of the patched gene family and is the receptor for sonic hedgehog, a secreted molecule implicated in the formation of embryonic structures and in tumorigenesis. This gene functions as a tumor suppressor.

Why is it called a hedgehog gene?

The gene was named by Robert Riddle, a postdoctoral fellow at the Tabin Lab, after his wife Betsy Wilder came home with a magazine containing an advert for the game Sonic the Hedgehog.

What is PTEN gene mutation?

Acquired (also known as somatic) PTEN genetic mutations are one of the commonly found mutations in human cancer. These mutations have been found in many different types of cancer, including prostate cancer, uterine cancer, and some types of brain tumors.

What type of receptor is PTCH1?

The PTCH1 gene provides instructions for producing the patched-1 protein, which functions as a receptor. Receptor proteins have specific sites into which certain other proteins, called ligands, fit like keys into locks. A protein called Sonic Hedgehog is the ligand for the patched-1 receptor.

Who named SHH gene?

The mammalian hedgehog protein, sonic hedgehog (SHH) was named by a postdoc in Cliff Tabin’s lab who took inspiration from a comic book his daughter was reading. SHH is involved in the hedgehog signalling pathway, which is a key regulator of all bilateral animal development.

What is the role of hedgehog in Drosophila development?

Hedgehog (Hh) is a secreted signaling protein that regulates the growth and patterning of many organs. First identified because of its roles in Drosophila embryonic and imaginal disc development, it is now understood to be essential to most organs in Drosophila and higher vertebrates.

Is SMAD4 a tumor suppressor gene?

The SMAD4 protein serves both as a transcription factor and as a tumor suppressor. Transcription factors help control the activity of particular genes, and tumor suppressors keep cells from growing and dividing too fast or in an uncontrolled way.

Where is SHH expressed?

In vertebrates, shh is expressed in the midline central nervous system (CNS), the notochord and the limb bud zone of polarizing activity (ZPA), and the secreted shh protein is an inductive signal in the patterning of the ventral neural tube, the anterior-posterior limb axis and the ventral somites (16–19).

Is SHH a Hox gene?

Another function of Hox genes that has emerged recently is to regulate expression of the Sonic hedgehog gene (Shh) which controls patterning of distal structures. Hox genes also play a major role in development of the digits.

Where are hedgehogs?

Where do hedgehogs live? They inhabit a wide range across a variety of climates and terrains in East Africa, West Africa, and Central Africa. They must have dry shelters on well-drained soil and a good supply of ground-dwelling insects and other invertebrates.

Who discovered hedgehog Signalling pathway?

The hedgehog pathway, initially discovered by two Nobel laureates Drs E Wieschaus and C Nusslein-Volhard in Drosophila, is a major regulator for cell differentiation, tissue polarity and cell proliferation.

What is the function of the PTCH1 gene?

The PTCH1 gene provides instructions for producing the patched-1 protein, which functions as a receptor. Receptor proteins have specific sites into which certain other proteins, called ligands, fit like keys into locks.

What is the role of PTCH1 in the pathophysiology of Sonic hedgehog disease?

When Sonic Hedgehog is attached, patched-1 stops suppressing cell proliferation. Based on its role in preventing cells from proliferating in an uncontrolled way, PTCH1 is called a tumor suppressor gene. Adolphe C, Hetherington R, Ellis T, Wainwright B. Patched1 functions as a gatekeeper by promoting cell cycle progression.

Where are the PTCH mutations clustered?

We found that the PTCH mutations were mainly clustered into the predicted two large extracellular loops and the large intracellular loop. The SNPs appeared to be clustered around the sterol sensing domain and the second half of the protein.

Which mutations in PTCH1 cause Gorlin syndrome?

Mutations in PTCH1 cause Gorlin syndrome and mutations have also been found in holoprosencephaly patients. Some of these patients present cleft lip and palate among the holoprosencephaly features, and missense variants in PTCH1 were also found in a sequencing screening of nonsyndromic cleft lip and palate patients.