CHC17

CHC17 is a term found in scientific literature that may refer to the clathrin heavy chain 17, a component of clathrin-coated vesicles involved in endocytosis and intracellular trafficking. In organisms where CHC17 is used as a gene symbol, it denotes one member of the clathrin heavy chain (CHC) family. Clathrin proteins assemble into triskelions that polymerize into polyhedral lattices, forming coats around vesicles budding from membranes. The heavy chain provides the structural scaffold, while light chains stabilize the complex. CHC17-containing coats regulate traffic between the plasma membrane and endosomes and also participate in Golgi-derived vesicle formation.

In cellular processes, CHC17 is recruited to sites of vesicle budding by adaptor protein complexes such as AP-2 at the plasma membrane or AP-1 at the trans-Golgi network. Once coated vesicles bud, uncoating factors like hsc70 and auxilin remove the coat so that cargo can be delivered to its target.

Gene and protein context: The CHC gene family includes several paralogs across species. CHC17 is one such paralog in some genomes and is often studied alongside other clathrin heavy chain genes. In humans, the principal clathrin heavy chain is encoded by CLTC; CHC17 labeling tends to appear in genome annotations and literature focused on model organisms or specific tissues.

Alternate uses: CHC17 may also be used as an acronym in non-biological domains; context is required to determine the intended meaning.