Description
Osteopetrosis-associated transmembrane protein 1 (OSTM1) is a Single-pass type I membrane protein. It is expressed in many hematopoietic cells of the myeloid and lymphoid B- and T-lineages. The analysis of OSTM1 association with CLCN7 demonstrated that OSTM1 requires CLCN7 to localize to lysosomes, whereas the formation of a CLCN7-OSTM1 complex is required to stabilize CLCN7. OSTM1 plays a major role in myelopoiesis and lymphopoiesis and provided evidence of a crosstalk mechanism between hematopoietic cells for osteoclast activation. Thus, OSTM1 has an important role in osteoclast function and activation. The loss of function of OSTM1 results in deregulation of multiple hematopoietic lineages in addition to osteoclast lineage, OSTM1-defect patients display the most severe recessive osteopetrosis phenotype and die at early ages. Furthermore, it is suggested that OSTM1 has a primary role in neural development not related to lysosomal dysfunction. The canonical Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway may be a molecular basis for OSTM1 mutations and severe autosomal recessive osteopetrosis (ARO)