DDB1 and CUL4 associated factor 7 (DCAF7)

DDB1 and CUL4 associated factor 7 (DCAF7) is a highly conserved, ubiquitously expressed scaffold protein containing multiple WD40 repeats, which enable it to participate in large multiprotein complexes and facilitate protein-protein interactions[5][2]. It acts as a critical adaptor protein in the DDB1-CUL4 E3 ubiquitin ligase complex, promoting proteasomal degradation of specific substrates and assembling signaling complexes that regulate cell proliferation, insulin signaling (IRS1-PI3K-AKT-FOXO1), and transcriptional programs essential for cell fate and differentiation[2][3][5]. DCAF7 is particularly important in stem and progenitor cell homeostasis, hematopoiesis, and development; it is required for proliferative signaling, cell cycle progression, and differentiation, with established roles in craniofacial morphogenesis and regulation of gene expression through the non-canonical polycomb repressive complex 1.5[1][2][5]. Mutations or depletion of DCAF7 can cause growth arrest, reduced cell proliferation and differentiation, and are found in cases of myeloid leukemia and certain developmental disorders[1][5]. DCAF7 does not match the typical therapeutic drug target categories (receptor, enzyme, transporter), and no therapeutic drugs are specifically known to target it; instead, it is broadly essential for cellular and organismal viability[2][3][5].

Other names

DCAF7HAN11WDR68SWAN-1WD repeat-containing protein 68WD repeat-containing protein An11 homologseven-WD-repeat protein of the AN11 family-1human anthocyanin regulatorAN11