COMMD1: A Multifunctional Regulatory Protein

The COMMD Protein Family is highly conserved among multicellular eukaryotic organisms and many orthologs of human COMMD genes have been found in different species of plants, invertebrates, lower vertebrates, and mammals. COMMD1 is the best characterized member of the family and is conserved among vertebrates. This protein represents a pleiotropic factor involved in the regulation of many cellular and physiological processes that include copper and cholesterol homeostasis, ionic transport, oxidative stress, protein aggregation, protein trafficking, NF-κB-mediated transcription, hypoxia induced transcription, DNA damage response, and oncogenesis. The present work reviews the molecular mechanisms and biological processes regulated by COMMD1 that have been described so far, emphasizing in the regulatory role of the protein and its importance for cellular homeostasis. J. Cell. Biochem. 119: 34-51, 2018.