Hatzfeld M
Molecular Biology Group, Medical Faculty, University of Halle, Germany.
Int Rev Cytol. 1999;186:179-224. doi: 10.1016/s0074-7696(08)61054-2.
The armadillo gene is a segment polarity gene of Drosophila involved in signal transduction through wingless. Since the mid-1980s, a growing number of related proteins have been identified based on sequence homologies. These proteins share a central domain that is composed of a series of imperfect 45 amino acid repeats. Armadillo family members reveal diverse cellular locations reflecting their diverse functions. A single protein exerts several functions through interactions of its armadillo repeat domain with diverse binding partners. The proteins combine structural roles as cell-contact and cytoskeleton-associated proteins and signaling functions by generating and transducing signals affecting gene expression. The study of armadillo family members has made it increasingly clear that a distinction between structural proteins on the one hand and signaling molecules on the other is rather artificial. Instead armadillo family members exert both functions by interacting with a number of distinct cellular-binding partners.
犰狳基因是果蝇的一种体节极性基因，参与通过无翅蛋白的信号转导。自20世纪80年代中期以来，基于序列同源性已鉴定出越来越多的相关蛋白。这些蛋白共享一个中央结构域，该结构域由一系列不完美的45个氨基酸重复序列组成。犰狳家族成员显示出不同的细胞定位，反映了它们的不同功能。单个蛋白通过其犰狳重复结构域与不同结合伙伴的相互作用发挥多种功能。这些蛋白通过产生和转导影响基因表达的信号，兼具作为细胞接触和细胞骨架相关蛋白的结构作用以及信号功能。对犰狳家族成员的研究越来越清楚地表明，一方面结构蛋白与另一方面信号分子之间的区分相当人为。相反，犰狳家族成员通过与许多不同的细胞结合伙伴相互作用来发挥这两种功能。
