CFAP251

gene
On this page

Also known as MGC33630CaM-IP4

Summary

CFAP251 (cilia and flagella associated protein 251, HGNC:28506) is a protein-coding gene on chromosome 12q24.31, encoding Cilia- and flagella-associated protein 251 (Q8TBY9). Involved in spermatozoa motility.

This protein encoded by this gene belongs to the WD repeat-containing family of proteins, which function in the formation of protein-protein complexes in a variety of biological pathways. This family member appears to function in the determination of mean platelet volume (MPV), and polymorphisms in this gene have been associated with variance in MPV. Alternative splicing of this gene results in multiple transcript variants.

Source: NCBI Gene 144406 — RefSeq curated summary.

At a glance

  • Gene–disease (curated): spermatogenic failure 33 (Strong, GenCC) — +1 more curated relationship
  • GWAS associations: 15
  • Clinical variants (ClinVar): 228 total — 6 pathogenic, 4 likely-pathogenic
  • Phenotypes (HPO): 8
  • MANE Select transcript: NM_144668

Identifiers

Gene identifiers

FieldValue
HGNC IDHGNC:28506
Approved symbolCFAP251
Namecilia and flagella associated protein 251
Location12q24.31
Locus typegene with protein product
StatusApproved
AliasesMGC33630, CaM-IP4
Ensembl geneENSG00000158023
Ensembl biotypeprotein_coding
OMIM618146
Entrez144406

Gene structure

Transcript identifiers

Ensembl transcripts: 13 — 6 protein_coding, 5 retained_intron, 2 protein_coding_CDS_not_defined

ENST00000288912, ENST00000397454, ENST00000428465, ENST00000535257, ENST00000540779, ENST00000543211, ENST00000545752, ENST00000545988, ENST00000546044, ENST00000880754, ENST00000880755, ENST00000880756, ENST00000969643

RefSeq mRNA: 2 — MANE Select: NM_144668 NM_001178003, NM_144668

CCDS: CCDS41853, CCDS53840

Canonical transcript exons

ENST00000288912 — 22 exons

ExonStartEnd
ENSE00001036597121975244121975334
ENSE00001036609121975542121975685
ENSE00001112069121999716121999944
ENSE00001190266121961978121962162
ENSE00001190271121960585121960758
ENSE00001190275121958943121959094
ENSE00001190287121954120121954334
ENSE00001213624121931746121931886
ENSE00001213643121921286121921683
ENSE00001281051121951480121951530
ENSE00001312649121948984121949061
ENSE00001328153121934247121934356
ENSE00002255783121918592121918695
ENSE00003479770121957074121957268
ENSE00003482834121968006121968169
ENSE00003493958121923622121923990
ENSE00003545474122003652122003919
ENSE00003551702122001497122001598
ENSE00003638717121942895121942975
ENSE00003660620121942534121942645
ENSE00003663832121958272121958522
ENSE00003671659121966955121967069

Expression profiles

Bgee: expression breadth ubiquitous, 177 present calls, max score 97.07.

FANTOM5 (CAGE): breadth broad, TPM avg 1.9073 / max 107.8093, expressed in 630 samples.

FANTOM5 promoters (4 alternative TSS)

Promoter IDTPM avgSamples expressed
1284781.4942542
1284770.3339151
1284790.054221
1284930.025010

Top tissues by expression

253 total, by Bgee expression score (0-100, higher = more expressed):

TissueAnatomy IDExpression scoreQuality
right uterine tubeUBERON:000130297.07gold quality
bronchial epithelial cellCL:000232896.65gold quality
bronchusUBERON:000218595.26gold quality
olfactory segment of nasal mucosaUBERON:000538694.35gold quality
spermCL:000001993.94gold quality
oviduct epitheliumUBERON:000480491.93gold quality
mucosa of paranasal sinusUBERON:000503086.64gold quality
left testisUBERON:000453385.60gold quality
right testisUBERON:000453484.99gold quality
fallopian tubeUBERON:000388984.92gold quality
epithelium of nasopharynxUBERON:000195184.76gold quality
nasopharynxUBERON:000172884.75gold quality
adenohypophysisUBERON:000219684.73gold quality
testisUBERON:000047384.37gold quality
right lobe of thyroid glandUBERON:000111983.53gold quality
pituitary glandUBERON:000000783.24gold quality
male germ line stem cell (sensu Vertebrata) in testisCL:0000089 ∩ UBERON:000047382.75gold quality
left lobe of thyroid glandUBERON:000112082.09gold quality
primordial germ cell in gonadCL:0000670 ∩ UBERON:000099181.40gold quality
thyroid glandUBERON:000204681.14gold quality
oocyteCL:000002380.83gold quality
secondary oocyteCL:000065579.51gold quality
nasal cavity mucosaUBERON:000182679.32gold quality
nasal cavity epitheliumUBERON:000538478.13silver quality
endocervixUBERON:000045877.78gold quality
metanephros cortexUBERON:001053377.53gold quality
caput epididymisUBERON:000435876.43gold quality
left uterine tubeUBERON:000130374.27gold quality
skin of legUBERON:000151173.97gold quality
nucleus accumbensUBERON:000188273.42gold quality

Single-cell (SCXA)

Detected in 2 experiment(s), a significant marker in 2.

ExperimentMarker?Max mean expression
E-ANND-3yes11.53
E-MTAB-9388yes6.56

Regulation

Is transcription factor: no

miRNA regulators (miRDB)

14 targeting CFAP251, top 30 by miRDB confidence (max_score; target_count = how many genes the miRNA targets in total — lower means more specific):

miRNAMax scoreAvg scoremiRNA target_count
HSA-MIR-8485100.0077.574731
HSA-MIR-218-5P99.9372.222103
HSA-MIR-4728-5P99.8569.394718
HSA-MIR-4799-5P99.8270.602663
HSA-MIR-6785-5P99.8268.684428
HSA-MIR-149-3P99.7268.223963
HSA-MIR-6883-5P99.6968.053785
HSA-MIR-570099.6469.882280
HSA-MIR-1249-5P99.6166.552049
HSA-MIR-6797-5P99.6166.552084
HSA-MIR-211399.5871.221521
HSA-MIR-190B-3P99.3368.291382
HSA-MIR-474499.0169.911581
HSA-MIR-513B-3P98.7668.121577

Literature-anchored findings (GeneRIF, showing 9)

  • Indicates that an intronic SNP in the WDR66 gene associates with 2-hydroxyisobutyrate concentrations. (PMID:21572414)
  • Analysis of indel variations in the human disease-associated genes CDKN2AIP, WDR66, USP20 and OR7C2 in a Korean population. (PMID:22552337)
  • WDR66 expression is likely to play an important role in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma growth and invasion as a positive modulator of epithelial-mesenchymal transition. (PMID:23514407)
  • WDR66 as a gene associated with the MMAF phenotype and highlighting the importance of the WDR66 C-terminal region. (PMID:30122540)
  • Biallelic mutations of CFAP251 is associated with sperm flagellar defects and male infertility. (PMID:30310178)
  • WDR66 expression was identified to be inversely associated with PTEN expression and negatively correlated with the overall survival of patients with salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma (SACC). Collectively, the results of the study revealed a novel function of WDR66 in mediating the progression of PTENdeficient SACCs. (PMID:30569117)
  • WDR66 expression is regulated by Lin28a and FBXL19-AS1 in breast cancer. (PMID:31140103)
  • Eukaryotic initiation Factor 4AIII facilitates hepatocellular carcinoma cell proliferation, migration, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition process via antagonistically binding to WD repeat domain 66 with miRNA-2113. (PMID:31975383)
  • Biallelic variants in MAATS1 encoding CFAP91, a calmodulin-associated and spoke-associated complex protein, cause severe astheno-teratozoospermia and male infertility. (PMID:32161152)

Cross-species orthologs

4 orthologs

OrganismSymbolGene ID
danio_reriocfap251ENSDARG00000059855
mus_musculusCfap251ENSMUSG00000029442
rattus_norvegicusCfap251ENSRNOG00000001342
rattus_norvegicusENSRNOG00000085554

Paralogs (9): EML1 (ENSG00000066629), EML2 (ENSG00000125746), EML4 (ENSG00000143924), EML3 (ENSG00000149499), WDR90 (ENSG00000161996), EML5 (ENSG00000165521), CFAP52 (ENSG00000166596), CFAP44 (ENSG00000206530), EML6 (ENSG00000214595)

Protein

Protein identifiers

Cilia- and flagella-associated protein 251Q8TBY9 (reviewed: Q8TBY9)

Alternative names: WD repeat-containing protein 66

All UniProt accessions (1): Q8TBY9

UniProt curated annotations — full annotation on UniProt →

Function. Involved in spermatozoa motility. May also regulate cilium motility through its role in the assembly of the axonemal radial spokes.

Subcellular location. Cytoplasm. Cytoskeleton. Cilium axoneme. Cell projection. Cilium. Flagellum.

Tissue specificity. Isoform 1 is highly expressed in testis and, at lower levels, in lung. Very low levels are detected in kidney and brain. In testis, expressed in spermatozoa (at protein level). Isoform 2 is not detected in testis, lung, kidney, nor in brain.

Disease relevance. Spermatogenic failure 33 (SPGF33) [MIM:618152] An autosomal recessive infertility disorder caused by spermatogenesis defects that result in multiple abnormalities of sperm flagellum, including short, bent, curled, thick, or absent flagella. The disease is caused by variants affecting the gene represented in this entry.

Isoforms (3)

UniProt IDNamesCanonical?
Q8TBY9-11, T1yes
Q8TBY9-22, T2
Q8TBY9-33

RefSeq proteins (2): NP_001171474, NP_653269* (*=MANE)

Domains & families (InterPro)

IDNameType
IPR001680WD40_rptRepeat
IPR011047Quinoprotein_ADH-like_sfHomologous_superfamily
IPR011992EF-hand-dom_pairHomologous_superfamily
IPR015943WD40/YVTN_repeat-like_dom_sfHomologous_superfamily
IPR036322WD40_repeat_dom_sfHomologous_superfamily
IPR050630WD_repeat_EMAPFamily

Pfam: PF00400

UniProt features (39 total): repeat 14, compositionally biased region 8, sequence variant 5, sequence conflict 5, splice variant 4, region of interest 2, chain 1

Structure

Experimental structures (PDB)

1 structures.

PDBMethodResolution (Å)
8J07ELECTRON MICROSCOPY4.1

Predicted structure (AlphaFold)

ModelpLDDTFraction very-high
AF-Q8TBY9-F176.840.50

Function

Pathways and Gene Ontology

Reactome pathways

0 pathways

MSigDB gene sets: 103 (showing top): RICKMAN_METASTASIS_DN, RICKMAN_TUMOR_DIFFERENTIATED_WELL_VS_POORLY_DN, SENGUPTA_NASOPHARYNGEAL_CARCINOMA_DN, GOBP_CILIUM_MOVEMENT, GOBP_CILIUM_OR_FLAGELLUM_DEPENDENT_CELL_MOTILITY, RGAGGAARY_PU1_Q6, GOCC_CYTOPLASMIC_REGION, GOCC_MOTILE_CILIUM, GOCC_SPERM_MIDPIECE, GOCC_CILIUM, chr12q24, RAY_TUMORIGENESIS_BY_ERBB2_CDC25A_UP, DODD_NASOPHARYNGEAL_CARCINOMA_DN, TST1_01, FORTSCHEGGER_PHF8_TARGETS_DN

GO Biological Process (2): cilium movement (GO:0003341), flagellated sperm motility (GO:0030317)

GO Molecular Function (1): protein binding (GO:0005515)

GO Cellular Component (8): axoneme (GO:0005930), motile cilium (GO:0031514), sperm flagellum (GO:0036126), radial spoke stalk (GO:0001536), cytoplasm (GO:0005737), cytoskeleton (GO:0005856), cilium (GO:0005929), cell projection (GO:0042995)

GO top-level categories

Rollup of top GO terms by namespace:

CategoryTerms
cellular anatomical structure3
microtubule-based movement1
cilium-dependent cell motility1
cilium movement involved in cell motility1
sperm motility1
binding1
cytoskeleton1
microtubule1
ciliary plasm1
cilium1
9+2 motile cilium1
radial spoke1
protein-containing complex1
intracellular anatomical structure1
intracellular membraneless organelle1
intraciliary transport particle1
membrane-bounded organelle1
plasma membrane bounded cell projection1

Protein interactions and networks

STRING

1038 interactions, top by confidence (×1000):

Protein AProtein BPartner UniProtScore
CFAP251CFAP91Q7Z4T9817
CFAP251CFAP43Q8NDM7798
CFAP251CFAP61Q8NHU2784
CFAP251CFAP69A5D8W1715
CFAP251DNAH1Q9P2D7652
CFAP251QRICH2Q9H0J4640
CFAP251ARMC2Q8NEN0640
CFAP251CFAP70Q5T0N1637
CFAP251TTC21AQ8NDW8634
CFAP251FSIP2Q5CZC0624
CFAP251TTC29Q8NA56612
CFAP251SPEF2Q9C093589
CFAP251CFAP58Q5T655582
CFAP251KRTAP20-3Q3LI60570
CFAP251DNAH6Q9C0G6546

IntAct

7 interactions, top by confidence:

ABTypeScore
DNAJC7PLD2psi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.640
ZNF397ZNF213psi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.640
BAG2HGSpsi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.530
IMPDH1BCAT2psi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.530
HSPB1CFAP251psi-mi:“MI:0915”(physical association)0.370
DNAJA2ENC1psi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.350

BioGRID (5): WDR66 (Two-hybrid), WDR66 (Biochemical Activity), WDR66 (Affinity Capture-MS), WDR66 (Affinity Capture-RNA), WDR66 (Affinity Capture-MS)

ESM2 similar proteins: A0A0G2KIZ8, A0A1L8GXY4, A0A571BF63, A0A8M9QN10, A2CEI4, A2RRP1, A4D1P6, A6H8T2, A9X1C6, B0FXQ5, B1WC10, B2KIQ4, B2RY71, B2RYI0, B7FF09, B7FF12, E9PYY5, F1QHZ6, Q1LXZ7, Q2HJE1, Q3UMY5, Q402B2, Q4V8G4, Q5R6T6, Q5RE88, Q5U1Z0, Q5VTH9, Q5XIZ9, Q5ZLL7, Q6DFC6, Q6DTM3, Q6GPB9, Q6P2C0, Q6TEN6, Q7TMQ7, Q7ZVR1, Q8BMG7, Q8BX17, Q8C147, Q8IWG1

Diamond homologs: E9Q743, Q5RE88, Q8TBY9

SIGNOR signaling

0 interactions.

Disease & clinical

Clinical variants and AI predictions

ClinVar

228 variants total. Per-class counts are floors (≥ shown; pagination cap):

ClassificationCount (floor)
Pathogenic6
Likely pathogenic4
Uncertain significance150
Likely benign27
Benign11

Top pathogenic / likely-pathogenic (10)

Variant IDHGVSClassification
2636927NM_144668.6(CFAP251):c.799C>T (p.Arg267Ter)Pathogenic
3382462NM_144668.6(CFAP251):c.1930_1931del (p.Arg644fs)Pathogenic
3382463NM_144668.6(CFAP251):c.202del (p.Glu68fs)Pathogenic
545693NM_144668.6(CFAP251):c.1588_1589del (p.Leu530fs)Pathogenic
548450NM_144668.6(CFAP251):c.123del (p.Asp42fs)Pathogenic
586974NM_144668.6(CFAP251):c.3007-4915_3338-930delPathogenic
3780799NM_144668.6(CFAP251):c.385C>T (p.Gln129Ter)Likely pathogenic
3780800NM_144668.6(CFAP251):c.186_187insAGGAGGAGGAGGAGAAA (p.Glu63fs)Likely pathogenic
3780801NM_144668.6(CFAP251):c.196_197insAGAAAGGAGGAGG (p.Gly66fs)Likely pathogenic
4845783NM_144668.6(CFAP251):c.1304dup (p.Leu436fs)Likely pathogenic

SpliceAI

3691 predictions. Top by Δscore:

VariantEffectΔscore
12:121923989:TGGT:Tdonor_loss1.0000
12:121923990:GGTA:Gdonor_loss1.0000
12:121923991:G:Cdonor_loss1.0000
12:121923992:T:Gdonor_loss1.0000
12:121931883:TCAGG:Tdonor_loss1.0000
12:121931886:GG:Gdonor_loss1.0000
12:121931888:T:Gdonor_loss1.0000
12:121934355:GG:Gdonor_gain1.0000
12:121934356:GG:Gdonor_gain1.0000
12:121942532:A:AGacceptor_gain1.0000
12:121942533:G:GGacceptor_gain1.0000
12:121942893:A:AGacceptor_gain1.0000
12:121942894:G:GGacceptor_gain1.0000
12:121951478:A:AGacceptor_gain1.0000
12:121951479:G:GGacceptor_gain1.0000
12:121968001:TCTA:Tacceptor_loss1.0000
12:121968002:CTA:Cacceptor_loss1.0000
12:121968003:TA:Tacceptor_loss1.0000
12:121968004:A:ACacceptor_loss1.0000
12:121968004:AGGTG:Aacceptor_gain1.0000
12:121968005:GGT:Gacceptor_gain1.0000
12:121968005:GGTGG:Gacceptor_gain1.0000
12:121968145:T:TAdonor_gain1.0000
12:121968146:G:GAdonor_gain1.0000
12:121968171:T:Gdonor_loss1.0000
12:121975333:GG:Gdonor_gain1.0000
12:121975334:GG:Gdonor_gain1.0000
12:121975530:A:AGacceptor_gain1.0000
12:121975531:T:Gacceptor_gain1.0000
12:121975538:ATAG:Aacceptor_gain1.0000

AlphaMissense

7582 scored. Top likely-pathogenic:

VariantProtein changeam_pathogenicity
12:121960735:A:CS762R0.999
12:121960737:C:AS762R0.999
12:121960737:C:GS762R0.999
12:121942913:T:AW377R0.998
12:121942913:T:CW377R0.998
12:121949026:A:CS412R0.998
12:121949028:C:AS412R0.998
12:121949028:C:GS412R0.998
12:121968153:T:AW919R0.997
12:121968153:T:CW919R0.997
12:121934340:T:AW328R0.996
12:121934340:T:CW328R0.996
12:121959086:G:CA709P0.996
12:121960642:T:AW731R0.996
12:121960642:T:CW731R0.996
12:121960696:T:CF749L0.996
12:121960698:T:AF749L0.996
12:121960698:T:GF749L0.996
12:121960741:G:TG764W0.996
12:121961984:T:GY772D0.995
12:121954216:T:AW473R0.994
12:121954216:T:CW473R0.994
12:121958414:A:CS625R0.994
12:121958416:C:AS625R0.994
12:121958416:C:GS625R0.994
12:121958988:T:CL676P0.994
12:121959062:T:CF701L0.994
12:121959064:T:AF701L0.994
12:121959064:T:GF701L0.994
12:121959092:G:CA711P0.994

dbSNP variants (sampled 300 via entrez): RS1000014411 (12:121957519 A>G), RS1000024563 (12:121922951 A>G), RS1000041263 (12:121930269 A>C), RS1000042344 (12:121950254 T>A,C), RS1000092876 (12:122000077 A>G), RS1000106760 (12:121952459 C>T), RS1000108624 (12:121964446 T>C), RS1000166678 (12:121992502 T>A), RS1000218592 (12:121945372 C>T), RS1000309236 (12:121989029 C>T), RS1000320320 (12:121923148 C>T), RS1000359339 (12:121981645 C>T), RS1000423863 (12:121953350 C>T), RS1000449567 (12:121994975 AAAT>A), RS1000457427 (12:121996974 C>G)

Disease associations

OMIM: gene MIM:618146 | disease phenotypes: MIM:618152, MIM:617576

GenCC curated gene-disease

DiseaseClassificationInheritance
spermatogenic failure 33StrongAutosomal recessive
non-syndromic male infertility due to sperm motility disorderSupportiveAutosomal recessive

Mondo (4): spermatogenic failure 33 (MONDO:0029147), male infertility with teratozoospermia due to single gene mutation (MONDO:0018394), spermatogenic failure 18 (MONDO:0054615), (MONDO:0017173)

Orphanet (2): Non-syndromic male infertility due to sperm motility disorder (Orphanet:276234), Male infertility with teratozoospermia due to single gene mutation (Orphanet:399808)

HPO phenotypes

8 total (8 of 8 shown, HPO-id order):

HPOTerm
HP:0000007Autosomal recessive inheritance
HP:0003251Male infertility
HP:0011462Young adult onset
HP:0012207Reduced sperm motility
HP:0032558Absent sperm flagella
HP:0032559Short sperm flagella
HP:0032560Coiled sperm flagella
HP:0033393Irregularly shaped sperm tail

GWAS associations

15 associations (top):

StudyTraitp-value
GCST000305_3Mean platelet volume7.000000e-48
GCST000497_8Mean platelet volume3.000000e-44
GCST001073_1Urinary metabolites1.000000e-46
GCST001335_24Mean platelet volume1.000000e-103
GCST001337_39Platelet count1.000000e-10
GCST002184_10Mean platelet volume6.000000e-38
GCST004599_197Mean platelet volume8.000000e-177
GCST008129_77Body mass index3.000000e-10
GCST008167_4Mean platelet volume8.000000e-11
GCST010231_1Mean platelet volume7.000000e-20
GCST012020_192Serum metabolite levels2.000000e-19
GCST012021_117Serum metabolite levels2.000000e-19
GCST90002395_147Mean platelet volume2.000000e-10
GCST90020025_105Waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI2.000000e-11
GCST90020027_1683Waist-hip index3.000000e-11

EFO canonical traits (4, from GWAS)

EFO IDTrait name
EFO:0004725metabolite measurement
EFO:0004309platelet count
EFO:0004340body mass index
EFO:0007788BMI-adjusted waist-hip ratio

Drugs & pharmacology

Drug and pharmacology data

Is drug target: no

PharmGKB: 1 entry (VIP=true, CPIC=false)

CTD chemical–gene interactions

41 total (human), top 30 by PubMed support.

ChemicalActions (top 5)PubMed papers
Benzo(a)pyreneincreases expression, affects methylation3
Smokedecreases expression, increases abundance, increases expression3
aristolochic acid Iincreases expression1
daidzeinaffects cotreatment, affects expression1
propionaldehydeincreases expression1
tris(2-butoxyethyl) phosphateaffects expression1
daidzinaffects cotreatment, affects expression1
sulforaphaneincreases expression1
sodium arseniteincreases expression1
butyraldehydeincreases expression1
potassium chromate(VI)increases expression1
nickel sulfatedecreases expression1
isobutyl alcoholaffects cotreatment, increases abundance, increases expression1
genistinaffects cotreatment, affects expression1
perfluorooctane sulfonic acidincreases expression1
glyciteinaffects cotreatment, affects expression1
entinostatincreases expression1
glycitinaffects cotreatment, affects expression1
abrineincreases expression1
jinfukangaffects cotreatment, increases expression1
(+)-JQ1 compounddecreases expression1
Decitabineincreases expression1
Sunitinibincreases expression1
Acetaminophendecreases expression1
Air Pollutantsincreases abundance, increases expression1
Ethanolaffects cotreatment, increases abundance, increases expression1
Cadmiumincreases abundance, increases expression1
Cisplatinaffects cotreatment, increases expression1
Gasolineaffects cotreatment, increases abundance, increases expression1
Oxygenincreases expression1

Clinical trials (associated diseases)

0 trials via MONDO — disease-level, not drug-specific.