CMTM3 presents a secreted form released via exosomes

CKLF-like MARVEL transmembrane domain-containing family (CMTM) is a family of proteins linking classical chemokines and the transmembrane-4 superfamily (TM4SF). In humans, they are encoded by nine genes, including chemokine-like factor (CKLF) and CMTM1 to CMTM8. Of these, CKLF1, CMTM1, and CMTM2 are related to chemokines, whereas CMTM8 is related to TM4SF11. The characteristics of other CMTM members are intermediate between those of CMTM1 and CMTM8. MARVEL domain-containing proteins usually have no signal peptide, but several reports have shown that MARVEL proteins, like MAL and CMTM5, are secreted via a vesicle-mediated secretory pathway. CMTM3 is the most closely related to CMTM5-v1 in the CMTM family, with 42% amino acid identity. However, by far, CMTM3 is known as a membrane-associated tumor suppressor protein. Thus, it is necessary to know if CMTM3 can be secreted in vesicles.was supported by the grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China,the Beijing Natural Science FoundationSCI(E)PubMed中国科技核心期刊(ISTIC)中国科学引文数据库(CSCD)EDITORIAL MATERIALmoxiaoning@bjmu.edu.cn6584-5864