Gamma-interferon-inducible protein Ifi-16 (Ifi-16) also known as interferon-inducible myeloid differentiation transcriptional activator 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...

 that in humans is encoded by the IFI16 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

This gene encodes a member of the HIN-200 (hematopoietic interferon-inducible nuclear antigens with 200 amino acid repeats) family of cytokine

Cytokine

Cytokines are small cell-signaling protein molecules that are secreted by the glial cells of the nervous system and by numerous cells of the immune system and are a category of signaling molecules used extensively in intercellular communication...

s. The encoded protein contains domains involved in DNA binding, transcriptional regulation, and protein-protein interactions. The protein localizes to the nucleoplasm

Nucleoplasm

Similar to the cytoplasm of a cell, the nucleus contains nucleoplasm or karyoplasm. The nucleoplasm is one of the types of protoplasm, and it is enveloped by the nuclear membrane or nuclear envelope. The nucleoplasm is a highly viscous liquid that surrounds the chromosomes and nucleoli...

 and nucleoli

Nucleolus

The nucleolus is a non-membrane bound structure composed of proteins and nucleic acids found within the nucleus. Ribosomal RNA is transcribed and assembled within the nucleolus...

, and interacts with p53

P53

p53 , is a tumor suppressor protein that in humans is encoded by the TP53 gene. p53 is crucial in multicellular organisms, where it regulates the cell cycle and, thus, functions as a tumor suppressor that is involved in preventing cancer...

 and retinoblastoma-1

Retinoblastoma protein

The retinoblastoma protein is a tumor suppressor protein that is dysfunctional in the majority types of cancer. One highly studied function of pRb is to prevent excessive cell growth by inhibiting cell cycle progression until a cell is ready to divide...

. It modulates p53 function, and inhibits cell growth in the Ras/Raf signaling pathway

MAPK/ERK pathway

The MAPK/ERK pathway is a chain of proteins in the cell that communicates a signal from a receptor on the surface of the cell to the DNA in the nucleus of the cell. The signal starts when a growth factor binds to the receptor on the cell surface and ends when the DNA in the nucleus expresses a...

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