DDB1 and CUL4 associated factor 4 (DCAF4)

DDB1 and CUL4 associated factor 4 (DCAF4) is a WD repeat protein that serves as a substrate receptor for the CUL4-DDB1 E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase complex. By participating in the recognition and recruitment of target proteins for ubiquitination and subsequent degradation, DCAF4 plays key roles in many essential cellular processes including cell cycle regulation, DNA damage repair, and chromatin remodeling. DCAF4 is part of a larger family of proteins (DCAF family) that confer substrate specificity to the CUL4-DDB1 ligase complex, impacting differentiation, stem cell maintenance, and disease pathways such as cancer. Manipulation of the CRL4-DDB1-DCAF axis by drugs like lenalidomide highlights its therapeutic relevance, although DCAF4 itself has not yet been directly targeted by marketed drugs

Other names

WDR21WDR21ADCAF4_HUMAN (UniProt)

Substrate recruitment for ubiquitination and targeted protein degradation via the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway; Drug-induced neo-substrate recruitment (certain drugs exploit DCAF subunits for selective protein degradation)