CTHRC1

What is CTHRC1 Protein?

CTHRC1 protein, short for Collagen Triple Helix Repeat Containing 1, is a unique molecule that plays a significant role in cellular communication and movement. It's like a traffic controller for cells, ensuring they're in the right place at the right time. Produced from our DNA, CTHRC1 is found in various body parts, including skin and blood vessels, and is linked to tissue growth, healing, and even some diseases. It's particularly intriguing to scientists because of its potential involvement in blood vessel formation and response to injury. Despite its importance, CTHRC1 remains somewhat of an enigma, with ongoing research aiming to unravel its full functions and implications.

What is the Function of CTHRC1 Protein?

The CTHRC1 protein is like a key controller in the body, helping to reshape the framework around cells. It's important in moving cells to where they're needed for healing wounds and regenerating tissues. CTHRC1 also helps form new blood vessels to keep tissues supplied with oxygen and nutrients. However, it's also connected to diseases like cancer, where it might aid in tumor growth and spreading. Figuring out exactly how CTHRC1 works could be crucial for crafting new treatments, so researchers are digging into all it can do.

CTHRC1 Related Signaling Pathway

The CTHRC1 protein is involved in several signaling pathways, with the Wnt/β-catenin pathway being a standout. It prevents β-catenin from breaking down, boosting its stability and activity, which aids in cell growth and movement crucial for tissue repair. However, when there's too much CTHRC1, as in some cancers, it can overly activate this pathway, leading to tumor expansion and spread. Besides the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, CTHRC1 might interact with other pathways, like the Notch and TGF-beta pathways, influencing various cellular behaviors. These pathways work together in complex ways, affecting everything from normal tissue maintenance to pathological conditions like cancer.

CTHRC1 Related Diseases

The CTHRC1 protein is linked to various diseases, showing a strong connection in cancer cases. In cancers like colorectal, breast, and lung, high levels of CTHRC1 are closely tied to tumor growth, spread, and invasion. It boosts cancer cell proliferation and movement by affecting pathways such as Wnt/β-catenin. Beyond cancer, CTHRC1 is also involved in heart-related conditions and might play a role in atherosclerosis by influencing the movement and growth of vascular smooth muscle cells. This makes CTHRC1 a key player in how these diseases develop and progress, and studying its specific mechanisms could lead to new treatments.

Bioapplications of CTHRC1

CTHRC1 protein holds a lot of promise in biomedical research and applications. Thanks to its key role in cell growth, movement, and tissue repair, it's being looked at for helping with wound healing and tissue regeneration, especially for skin and soft tissues. Its expression in cancer also makes it a potential biomarker for early cancer detection and prognosis. Scientists are investigating the idea of targeting CTHRC1 to control tumor growth and spread by adjusting its levels or function. In cardiovascular research, CTHRC1 could shed light on diseases like atherosclerosis and point to new treatment options. Overall, CTHRC1 has great potential in various biomedical fields, and more research could pave the way for its clinical use.

Case Study 1: Balazova L. et al. Nat Commun. 2021

Researchers are exploring the potential of activating brown and beige fat cells to enhance metabolic control. They have identified GPR180 as a crucial factor in improving the function of these cells and managing the body's glucose levels. Interestingly, GPR180 isn't a standard receptor but instead part of the TGFβ signaling pathway, affecting its activity through SMAD3 phosphorylation. By employing various scientific methods, researchers have demonstrated the importance of GPR180 in mediating CTHRC1's role in regulating fat cell activity and glucose homeostasis. Their studies reveal how the CTHRC1/GPR180 interaction works alongside the TGFβ pathway to subtly adjust these processes, ensuring balanced energy and glucose metabolism without triggering negative side effects.

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  Fig1. Effect of long-term (72 h) CTHRC1 (500 ng/ml) and TGFβ1 (1 ng/ml) on mitochondrial respiration.
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  Fig2. UCP1 protein in iBAT following CTHRC1 treatment in male mice exposed to HFD.

Case Study 2: Wang D. et al. Int J Biol Sci. 2023

Cardiac fibroblasts play a vital role in forming scar tissue and helping the heart heal after a heart attack. CTHRC1, a protein found outside cells, is linked to changes in blood vessels, bone growth, and cancer. However, how CTHRC1 works in heart healing after an attack isn't fully understood. Researchers using bioinformatics found that CTHRC1 levels rise in heart fibroblasts after injury. Heart attack mice show more CTHRC1 in their serum and heart fibroblasts. Lab studies revealed that TGFβ1-Smad2/3 signaling increases CTHRC1 in these cells, enhancing wound healing and activating fibroblasts. If Cthrc1 is lacking, heart function worsens, collagen drops, and death from heart rupture increases. This is matched by lower levels of myocardial CD31, α-smooth muscle actin, and collagens I and III, but increased MMP2 and MMP9 in mice without Cthrc1 after a heart attack. These issues were partly fixed with rCTHRC1 or rWNT5A proteins.

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  Fig3. CTHRC1 up-regulation induced by TGFβ1 (10 ng/ml) in primary cardiac fibroblasts.
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  Fig4. α-SMA immunofluorescence staining of primary cardiac fibroblasts treated with rCTHRC1.

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  Fig1. Systemic inhibition of TGF-β signaling in the fibrotic lung by pirfenidone and localized inhibition of TGF-β signaling in the fibrotic niche by bexotegrast. (Zhussipbek Mukhatayev, 2024)
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  Fig2. CTHRC1 pathway. (Ya-Juan Liu, 2023)

CTHRC1 has several biochemical functions, for example, Wnt-protein binding,frizzled binding. Some of the functions are cooperated with other proteins, some of the functions could acted by CTHRC1 itself. We selected most functions CTHRC1 had, and list some proteins which have the same functions with CTHRC1. You can find most of the proteins on our site.

Function	Related Protein
frizzled binding	WNT16,MYOC,WNT7A,LRP6,WNT9A,RNF43,DVL1,WNT4B,WNT7AA,WNT4A
Wnt-protein binding	SZL,FZD7A,FZD8,FZD9,LRP6,LRP5L,ROR1,APCDD1,SFRP1A,GM12824

CTHRC1 has direct interactions with proteins and molecules. Those interactions were detected by several methods such as yeast two hybrid, co-IP, pull-down and so on. We selected proteins and molecules interacted with CTHRC1 here. Most of them are supplied by our site. Hope this information will be useful for your research of CTHRC1.

ZDHHC17;TFAP2C