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Extracellular and intracellular functions of coiled-coil domain containing 3
Sara Omari1,2 , Hyemin Lee1,2 , Jieqiong Wang1,2 , Shelya X. Zeng1,2 , Hua Lu1,2,*
1Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
2Tulane Cancer Center, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
*Correspondence to:Hua Lu , Email:hlu2@tulane.edu
J Mol Cell Biol, Volume 15, Issue 6, June 2023, mjad037,  https://doi.org/10.1093/jmcb/mjad037
Keyword: CCDC3, p53, MDM2, lipid metabolism, p63, fatty liver (steatosis), tumor suppressor

Coiled-coil domain containing 3 (CCDC3, also called Favine) is a highly conserved protein initially identified as a protein secreted from adipocytes and endothelial cells in the vascular system with endocrine-like functions. Recently, CCDC3 was also found to function as a nuclear tumor suppressor in breast cancers. Although it is still understudied, CCDC3, since its discovery, has been shown to play multiple roles in lipid metabolism, fatty liver, abdominal obesity, anti-inflammation, atherosclerosis, and cancer. This essay is thus composed to offer an overview of these extracellular endocrine-like and intracellular (nuclear) functions of CCDC3. We also discuss the possible underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms of CCDC3, the implications for clinical translation, and the remaining puzzles about this special molecule.