Description
Product Characteristics: The BBSome complex is thought to function as a coat complex required for sorting of specific membrane proteins to the primary cilia. The BBSome complex is required for ciliogenesis but is dispensable for centriolar satellite function. This ciliogenic function is mediated in part by the Rab8 GDP/GTP exchange factor, which localizes to the basal body and contacts the BBSome. Rab8(GTP) enters the primary cilium and promotes extension of the ciliary membrane. Firstly the BBSome associates with the ciliary membrane and binds to RAB3IP/Rabin8, the guanosyl exchange factor (GEF) for Rab8 and then the Rab8-GTP localizes to the cilium and promotes docking and fusion of carrier vesicles to the base of the ciliary membrane. The BBSome complex, together with the LTZL1, controls SMO ciliary trafficking and contributes to the sonic hedgehog (SHH) pathway regulation. Required for proper BBSome complex assembly and its ciliary localization. Required for microtubule anchoring at the centrosome but not for microtubule nucleation. May be required for the dynein-mediated transport of pericentriolar proteins to the centrosome.
Target Information: This gene is a member of the Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) gene family. Bardet-Biedl syndrome is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by severe pigmentary retinopathy, obesity, polydactyly, renal malformation and mental retardation. The proteins encoded by BBS gene family members are structurally diverse. The similar phenotypes exhibited by mutations in BBS gene family members are likely due to the protein's shared roles in cilia formation and function. Many BBS proteins localize to the basal bodies, ciliary axonemes, and pericentriolar regions of cells. BBS proteins may also be involved in intracellular trafficking via microtubule-related transport. The protein encoded by this gene has sequence similarity to O-linked N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) transferases in plants and archaebacteria and in human forms a multi-protein 'BBSome' complex with six other BBS proteins. Alternative splice variants have been described but their predicted protein products have not been experimentally verified.[provided by RefSeq, Jan 2009]