Rhomboid domain containing 1 (RHBDD1)

Rhomboid domain containing 1 (RHBDD1) is an intramembrane serine protease located in the endoplasmic reticulum, where it participates in regulated intramembrane proteolysis of single- or multi-pass membrane proteins. It plays a role in the degradation of misfolded proteins via the ERAD pathway and modulates cell signaling, proteolytic processing, and apoptotic pathways. In cancer biology, RHBDD1 has been implicated as a potential oncogenic driver in colorectal cancer, enhancing tumor growth by promoting EGFR pathway activation via ADAM-independent cleavage and secretion of growth factors such as TGFα. While animal orthologs and related rhomboid proteases have diverse biological roles (including growth factor release in Drosophila), RHBDD1 specifically is associated in humans with protein quality control, apoptosis regulation, and cancer progression.

Other names

RHBDD1Rhomboid-like 4 (RHBL4)RHBBD1

If a drug were to target RHBDD1, the likely mechanism would be inhibition of its serine protease activity, thereby reducing the cleavage of target membrane proteins, and consequently blocking activation of downstream pathways such as EGFR signaling