Growth factor, augmenter of liver regeneration (ERV1 homolog, S. cerevisiae), also known as GFER, is a protein

Protein

Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

 which in humans is encoded by the GFER gene

Gene

A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...

.

Function

The hepatotrophic factor designated augmenter of liver regeneration (ALR) is thought to be one of the factors responsible for the extraordinary regenerative capacity of mammalian liver. It has also been called hepatic regenerative stimulation substance (HSS). The gene resides on chromosome 16 in the interval containing the locus for polycystic kidney disease

Polycystic kidney disease

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease is an inherited systemic disorder that predominantly affects the kidneys, but may affect other organs including the liver, pancreas, brain, and arterial blood vessels...

 (PKD1). The putative gene product is 42% similar to the scERV1 protein of yeast. The yeast scERV1 gene had been found to be essential for oxidative phosphorylation

Oxidative phosphorylation

Oxidative phosphorylation is a metabolic pathway that uses energy released by the oxidation of nutrients to produce adenosine triphosphate . Although the many forms of life on earth use a range of different nutrients, almost all aerobic organisms carry out oxidative phosphorylation to produce ATP,...

, the maintenance of mitochondrial genomes, and the cell division cycle

Cell cycle

The cell cycle, or cell-division cycle, is the series of events that takes place in a cell leading to its division and duplication . In cells without a nucleus , the cell cycle occurs via a process termed binary fission...

. The human gene is both the structural and functional homolog of the yeast scERV1 gene.

Interactions

GFER has been shown to interact

Protein-protein interaction

Protein–protein interactions occur when two or more proteins bind together, often to carry out their biological function. Many of the most important molecular processes in the cell such as DNA replication are carried out by large molecular machines that are built from a large number of protein...

 with COP9 constitutive photomorphogenic homolog subunit 5

COP9 constitutive photomorphogenic homolog subunit 5

COP9 constitutive photomorphogenic homolog subunit 5 , also known as COPS5 or Csn5, is a gene conserved from humans to Saccharomyces cerevisiae.-Interactions:...

 and BNIPL

BNIPL

Bcl-2/adenovirus E1B 19 kDa-interacting protein 2-like protein is a protein that in humans is encoded by the BNIPL gene.-Interactions:BNIPL has been shown to interact with Macrophage migration inhibitory factor, GFER, CDC42, BCL2-like 1 and Bcl-2....

.

Further reading