Centrin 1 (CETN1)

Centrin-1 is a protein plays important roles in the determination of centrosome position and segregation, and in the process of microtubule severing. This encoded protein is localized to the centrosome of interphase cells, and redistributes to the region of the spindle poles during mitosis, reflecting the dynamic behavior of the centrosome during the cell cycle.

The predicted 172-amino acid protein contains 4 putative EF-hand calcium-binding domains. Sequence analysis revealed that CETN1 is highly conserved; it shares 81% and 68% protein sequence identity with Xenopus centrin and Chlamydomonas centrin, respectively. CETN1 isolated from HeLa cell extracts has a molecular mass of approximately 20 kD and a pI of 4.5 to 4.7.