CGI 32, CGI32, Copper homeostasis protein cutC homolog, cutC, CutC copper transporter homolog E. coli, CUTC_HUMAN, RP11-483F11.3.
Copper is an essential micronutrient used as a co-factor for several essential enzymes in all living organisms. Due to the high toxicity of copper, its metabolism is tightly regulated and defects in this regulation can cause Menkes (deficiency) or Wilson (accumulation) disease in various tissue. CUTC (cutC copper transporter homolog (E. coli)), also known as CGI-32, is a 273 amino acid protein belonging to the cutC family. CUTC is involved in copper homeostasis and is encoded by a gene located on human chromosome 10, which contains over 800 genes and 135 million nucleotides. PTEN is an important tumor suppressor gene located on chromosome 10 and, when defective, causes a genetic predisposition to cancer development known as Cowden syndrome. Other chromosome 10 associated disorders include Cockayne syndrome, tetrahydrobiopterin deficiency and trisomy 10.
