WD Repeat Containing And Planar Cell Polarity Effector Protein Fritz Homolog (WDPCP)

The C2ORF86 gene encodes an ortholog of Drosophila 'fritz,' a cytoplasmic WD40 repeat protein that controls planar cell polarity.The proline-rich region of Fritz is the most divergent among species. In the fly it contains 14.5% proline and was predicted to fold as a random coil. In the mammalian Fritz protein, the equivalent region is shorter and not significantly proline-rich, and is remarkably diverged between mouse and human, showing just 45% identity compared with 82% for the rest of the protein. The fly, mouse, and human Fritz proteins share a highly conserved hydrophobic 10-amino acid peptide at the extreme C terminus of the protein. The 2 WD40 repeats of mammalian Fritz fold together to form a beta-propeller structure that provides surfaces for protein-protein interaction.