SOCS7

gene
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Also known as NAP4NCKAP4

Summary

SOCS7 (suppressor of cytokine signaling 7, HGNC:29846) is a protein-coding gene on chromosome 17q12, encoding Suppressor of cytokine signaling 7 (O14512). Substrate-recognition component of a cullin-5-RING E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase complex (ECS complex, also named CRL5 complex), which mediates the ubiquitination and subsequent proteasomal degradation of target proteins, such as DAB1 and IRS1.

Predicted to enable phosphorylation-dependent protein binding activity; signaling adaptor activity; and ubiquitin-like ligase-substrate adaptor activity. Predicted to be involved in insulin receptor signaling pathway; proteasome-mediated ubiquitin-dependent protein catabolic process; and regulation of neuron migration. Predicted to act upstream of or within brain development; fat cell differentiation; and protein ubiquitination. Located in cytosol. Is active in cytoplasm.

Source: NCBI Gene 30837 — RefSeq curated summary.

At a glance

  • Clinical variants (ClinVar): 80 total
  • MANE Select transcript: NM_014598

Identifiers

Gene identifiers

FieldValue
HGNC IDHGNC:29846
Approved symbolSOCS7
Namesuppressor of cytokine signaling 7
Location17q12
Locus typegene with protein product
StatusApproved
AliasesNAP4, NCKAP4
Ensembl geneENSG00000274211
Ensembl biotypeprotein_coding
OMIM608788
Entrez30837

Gene structure

Transcript identifiers

Ensembl transcripts: 5 — 4 protein_coding, 1 retained_intron

ENST00000612932, ENST00000613678, ENST00000617360, ENST00000617765, ENST00000665913

RefSeq mRNA: 1 — MANE Select: NM_014598 NM_014598

CCDS: CCDS32637

Canonical transcript exons

ENST00000612932 — 10 exons

ExonStartEnd
ENSE000037170203836171138361775
ENSE000037215673835184438353032
ENSE000037271333836530838365409
ENSE000037288553839530938395444
ENSE000037310463836788238368050
ENSE000037323243837771438377842
ENSE000037360773836628738366417
ENSE000037447533836475238364856
ENSE000037502303839584838395998
ENSE000037524403839951338405593

Expression profiles

Bgee: expression breadth ubiquitous, 134 present calls, max score 94.71.

FANTOM5 (CAGE): breadth ubiquitous, TPM avg 6.6314 / max 119.7794, expressed in 1663 samples.

FANTOM5 promoters (7 alternative TSS)

Promoter IDTPM avgSamples expressed
1604772.59331122
1604762.48321229
1604810.7103470
1604800.4301210
1604780.216575
1604790.142333
2081650.055614

Top tissues by expression

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

TissueAnatomy IDExpression scoreQuality
right testisUBERON:000453494.71gold quality
left testisUBERON:000453394.67gold quality
testisUBERON:000047393.39gold quality
cortical plateUBERON:000534391.89gold quality
cerebellumUBERON:000203791.65gold quality
cerebellar cortexUBERON:000212991.58gold quality
cerebellar hemisphereUBERON:000224591.51gold quality
right hemisphere of cerebellumUBERON:001489090.29gold quality
ganglionic eminenceUBERON:000402388.88gold quality
sural nerveUBERON:001548886.83gold quality
islet of LangerhansUBERON:000000686.74gold quality
skeletal muscle tissueUBERON:000113485.04gold quality
superior frontal gyrusUBERON:000266184.37gold quality
prefrontal cortexUBERON:000045184.17gold quality
male germ line stem cell (sensu Vertebrata) in testisCL:0000089 ∩ UBERON:000047383.86gold quality
pancreasUBERON:000126483.81gold quality
gastrocnemiusUBERON:000138883.58gold quality
muscle of legUBERON:000138383.48gold quality
ventricular zoneUBERON:000305383.10gold quality
frontal cortexUBERON:000187082.70gold quality
adrenal tissueUBERON:001830382.17gold quality
body of pancreasUBERON:000115081.75gold quality
muscle tissueUBERON:000238581.74gold quality
cerebral cortexUBERON:000095681.73gold quality
anterior cingulate cortexUBERON:000983581.51gold quality
brainUBERON:000095581.46gold quality
hindlimb stylopod muscleUBERON:000425281.40gold quality
dorsolateral prefrontal cortexUBERON:000983481.06gold quality
colonic epitheliumUBERON:000039780.96gold quality
primary visual cortexUBERON:000243680.43gold quality

Single-cell (SCXA)

Detected in 2 experiment(s), a significant marker in 0.

ExperimentMarker?Max mean expression
E-ENAD-17no259.15
E-ANND-3no1.22

Regulation

Is transcription factor: no

miRNA regulators (miRDB)

235 targeting SOCS7, 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-3613-3P100.0076.367965
HSA-MIR-6876-5P100.0067.682126
HSA-MIR-4476100.0068.182030
HSA-MIR-29A-3P100.0073.111835
HSA-MIR-29B-3P100.0073.181833
HSA-MIR-29C-3P100.0073.151833
HSA-MIR-4455100.0065.481587
HSA-MIR-6798-5P100.0065.77699
HSA-MIR-4776-3P100.0068.731340
HSA-MIR-3925-3P100.0069.951237
HSA-MIR-4481100.0066.421669
HSA-MIR-5193100.0067.261744
HSA-MIR-4673100.0066.641490
HSA-MIR-34A-5P99.9971.211784
HSA-MIR-449A99.9971.051776
HSA-MIR-118499.9968.191458
HSA-MIR-450099.9972.722367
HSA-MIR-150-5P99.9966.691976
HSA-MIR-453499.9966.581907
HSA-LET-7F-2-3P99.9870.982588
HSA-MIR-1185-1-3P99.9871.042593
HSA-MIR-1185-2-3P99.9871.042593
HSA-LET-7A-5P99.9872.291790
HSA-LET-7B-5P99.9872.311790
HSA-LET-7C-5P99.9872.291790
HSA-LET-7E-5P99.9872.291790
HSA-LET-7F-5P99.9872.561784
HSA-LET-7G-5P99.9872.371784
HSA-LET-7I-5P99.9872.371788

Literature-anchored findings (GeneRIF, showing 17)

  • Taken together, our data indicate that SOCS-7 interacts with vinexin and the actin cytoskeleton. (PMID:15242778)
  • Results indicate that SOCS-7 is a dysregulator of prolactin, leptin, and growth hormone signaling and that its mode of action is a variation of SOCS protein inhibition of cytokine-inducible STAT3 and 5-mediated signal transduction. (PMID:15677474)
  • data suggest that SOCS7 is a potent regulator of glucose homeostasis and insulin signaling (PMID:16127460)
  • Demonstrate connection between septins/SOCS7/NCK signaling and the DNA damage response. (PMID:17803907)
  • findings show that PPAR-gamma is involved in the regulation of SOCS-7 expression by hepatitis C virus core protein genotype 3a (PMID:20357037)
  • Higher mRNA expression levels of SOCS1, 3, 4 and 7 are significantly associated with earlier tumour stage and better clinical outcome in human breast cancer. (PMID:20433750)
  • LNCaP-S17 cells are resistant to exogenous IL-6-induced neuroendocrine differentiation due to increased levels of CIS/SOCS7 that block activation of JAK2-STAT3 pathways. (PMID:22213096)
  • The present report describes for the first time associations between common variants in SOCS7 gene and obesity, central obesity, insulin resistance and disorders of lipid metabolism in nondiabetic men from Argentina. (PMID:22397880)
  • SOCS7 functioned as an oncogene, the finding that revealed a novel mechanism of carcinogenesis in bladder cancer cells. (PMID:23392170)
  • genetic variants in the SOCS7 gene do not impact variation in glucose homeostasis traits and only minimally impact risk of T2DM in the Old Order Amish (PMID:23767996)
  • Insulin Like Growth Factor I treatment and SOCS7 loss have synergistically resulted in increased growth and migration of MCF7 and in increased migration of MDA-MB-231 cells. (PMID:24046004)
  • This SOCS7 knockdown-attributed effect could be due to a precise anti-PLCg-1 role. (PMID:25162020)
  • This study showed that increased protein levels of SOCS-4 and SOCS-7 in Alzheimer’s disease brains. (PMID:25286386)
  • Long noncoding RNA UCA1 regulates HCV replication and antiviral response via miR-145-5p/SOCS7/IFN pathway. (PMID:34345210)
  • The E3 ubiquitin ligase SOCS-7 reverses immunosuppression via Shc1 signaling in hepatocellular carcinoma. (PMID:35042950)
  • Lack of association between SOCS3 and SOCS7 polymorphisms and psoriasis. (PMID:36169255)
  • SOCS7-Derived BC-Box Motif Peptide Mediated Cholinergic Differentiation of Human Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells. (PMID:36769102)

Cross-species orthologs

5 orthologs

OrganismSymbolGene ID
danio_reriosocs7ENSDARG00000077018
mus_musculusSocs7ENSMUSG00000038485
rattus_norvegicusSocs7ENSRNOG00000059008
drosophila_melanogasterSocs16DFBGN0030869
caenorhabditis_elegansF39B2.5WBGENE00009556

Paralogs (7): CISH (ENSG00000114737), SOCS2 (ENSG00000120833), SOCS6 (ENSG00000170677), SOCS5 (ENSG00000171150), SOCS4 (ENSG00000180008), SOCS3 (ENSG00000184557), SOCS1 (ENSG00000185338)

Protein

Protein identifiers

Suppressor of cytokine signaling 7O14512 (reviewed: O14512)

Alternative names: Nck, Ash and phospholipase C gamma-binding protein, Nck-associated protein 4

All UniProt accessions (4): O14512, A0A087WZ14, A0A087X1Q5, A0A5F9YLF9

UniProt curated annotations — full annotation on UniProt →

Function. Substrate-recognition component of a cullin-5-RING E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase complex (ECS complex, also named CRL5 complex), which mediates the ubiquitination and subsequent proteasomal degradation of target proteins, such as DAB1 and IRS1. Specifically recognizes and binds phosphorylated proteins via its SH2 domain, promoting their ubiquitination. The ECS(SOCS7) complex acts as a key regulator of reelin signaling by mediating ubiquitination and degradation of phosphorylated DAB1 in the cortical plate of the developing cerebral cortex, thereby regulating neuron positioning during cortex development. Functions in insulin signaling and glucose homeostasis through IRS1 ubiquitination and subsequent proteasomal degradation. Also inhibits prolactin, growth hormone and leptin signaling by preventing STAT3 and STAT5 activation, sequestering them in the cytoplasm and reducing their binding to DNA.

Subunit / interactions. Substrate-recognition component of the ECS(SOCS7) complex, composed of SOCS7, CUL5, ELOB, ELOC and RNF7/RBX2. Interacts, via the third proline-rich region, with the second SH3 domain of the adapter protein NCK1. Also interacts with GRB2, INSR, PLCG1, SORBS3/vinexin, and phosphorylated STAT3 and STAT5. Interacts with SEPT6. Interacts with phosphorylated IRS4 and PIK3R1.

Subcellular location. Cytoplasm. Nucleus. Cell membrane.

Tissue specificity. Expressed in brain and leukocytes. Also in fetal lung fibroblasts and fetal brain.

Domain organisation. The SOCS box domain mediates the interaction with the Elongin BC complex, an adapter module in different E3 ubiquitin ligase complexes.

Induction. By IL6/interleukin-6, prolactin and growth hormone.

Pathway. Protein modification; protein ubiquitination.

Isoforms (2)

UniProt IDNamesCanonical?
O14512-11yes
O14512-22

RefSeq proteins (1): NP_055413* (*=MANE)

Domains & families (InterPro)

IDNameType
IPR000980SH2Domain
IPR001496SOCS_boxDomain
IPR035866SOCS7_SH2Domain
IPR036036SOCS_box-like_dom_sfHomologous_superfamily
IPR036860SH2_dom_sfHomologous_superfamily
IPR037346SOCS7_SOCSDomain

Pfam: PF00017, PF07525

UniProt features (16 total): compositionally biased region 5, region of interest 5, domain 2, chain 1, splice variant 1, mutagenesis site 1, sequence conflict 1

Structure

Experimental structures (PDB)

0 structures.

Predicted structure (AlphaFold)

ModelpLDDTFraction very-high
AF-O14512-F155.830.12

Functional residue map

Curated UniProt residues grouped by drug-discovery relevance — catalytic, ligand-binding, modification, and mutation-validated positions. Source: UniProtKB sequence features.

Mutagenesis-validated functional residues (1):

PositionPhenotype
425–427loss of irs1 ubiquitination and degradation.

Function

Pathways and Gene Ontology

Reactome pathways

0 pathways

MSigDB gene sets: 179 (showing top): GOBP_RESPONSE_TO_NITROGEN_COMPOUND, MIDORIKAWA_AMPLIFIED_IN_LIVER_CANCER, GOBP_MACROMOLECULE_CATABOLIC_PROCESS, GOBP_LAYER_FORMATION_IN_CEREBRAL_CORTEX, GOBP_NEUROGENESIS, GOBP_CELLULAR_RESPONSE_TO_OXYGEN_CONTAINING_COMPOUND, GOBP_CELLULAR_RESPONSE_TO_INSULIN_STIMULUS, GOBP_FOREBRAIN_DEVELOPMENT, GOBP_FOREBRAIN_CELL_MIGRATION, MODULE_205, GOBP_CELLULAR_RESPONSE_TO_HORMONE_STIMULUS, FOSTER_TOLERANT_MACROPHAGE_UP, GOBP_RESPONSE_TO_INSULIN, GOBP_TELENCEPHALON_GLIAL_CELL_MIGRATION, SHETH_LIVER_CANCER_VS_TXNIP_LOSS_PAM4

GO Biological Process (8): insulin receptor signaling pathway (GO:0008286), negative regulation of signal transduction (GO:0009968), protein ubiquitination (GO:0016567), layer formation in cerebral cortex (GO:0021819), intracellular signal transduction (GO:0035556), proteasome-mediated ubiquitin-dependent protein catabolic process (GO:0043161), regulation of neuron migration (GO:2001222), reelin-mediated signaling pathway (GO:0038026)

GO Molecular Function (5): SH3 domain binding (GO:0017124), signaling adaptor activity (GO:0035591), phosphorylation-dependent protein binding (GO:0140031), ubiquitin-like ligase-substrate adaptor activity (GO:1990756), protein binding (GO:0005515)

GO Cellular Component (6): nucleus (GO:0005634), cytoplasm (GO:0005737), cytosol (GO:0005829), plasma membrane (GO:0005886), Cul5-RING ubiquitin ligase complex (GO:0031466), membrane (GO:0016020)

GO top-level categories

Rollup of top GO terms by namespace:

CategoryTerms
cellular anatomical structure3
signal transduction2
intracellular anatomical structure2
cell surface receptor protein tyrosine kinase signaling pathway1
cellular response to insulin stimulus1
regulation of signal transduction1
negative regulation of cell communication1
negative regulation of signaling1
negative regulation of response to stimulus1
protein modification by small protein conjugation1
cerebral cortex radial glia-guided migration1
anatomical structure formation involved in morphogenesis1
ubiquitin-dependent protein catabolic process1
proteasomal protein catabolic process1
neuron migration1
regulation of cell migration1
cell surface receptor signaling pathway1
protein domain specific binding1
protein-macromolecule adaptor activity1
modification-dependent protein binding1
enzyme-substrate adaptor activity1
binding1
intracellular membrane-bounded organelle1
cytoplasm1
membrane1
cell periphery1
cullin-RING ubiquitin ligase complex1

Protein interactions and networks

STRING

708 interactions, top by confidence (×1000):

Protein AProtein BPartner UniProtScore
SOCS7CUL5Q93034834
SOCS7NCK1P16333802
SOCS7SEPTIN6Q14141785
SOCS7SEPTIN7Q16181775
SOCS7ELOCQ15369757
SOCS7IRS4O14654713
SOCS7H3BTC1H3BTC1713
SOCS7RNF7Q9UBF6669
SOCS7ELOBQ15370638
SOCS7LCKP06239628
SOCS7SEPTIN11Q9NVA2574
SOCS7SEPTIN8Q92599571
SOCS7NCK2O43639565
SOCS7IRS1P35568560
SOCS7TP53P04637536

IntAct

64 interactions, top by confidence:

ABTypeScore
CUL5SOCS2psi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.880
SOCS7SORBS3psi-mi:“MI:0915”(physical association)0.690
SORBS3SOCS7psi-mi:“MI:0915”(physical association)0.690
SORBS3SOCS7psi-mi:“MI:0403”(colocalization)0.690
SOCS7NCK2psi-mi:“MI:0915”(physical association)0.670
SOCS7NCK2psi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.670
CUL5SOCS7psi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.640
SOCS7EXOSC8psi-mi:“MI:0915”(physical association)0.560
SOCS7TNS2psi-mi:“MI:0915”(physical association)0.560
SOCS7MDFIpsi-mi:“MI:0915”(physical association)0.560
SOCS7psi-mi:“MI:0915”(physical association)0.560
SOCS7HSPB8psi-mi:“MI:0915”(physical association)0.560
SOCS7YES1psi-mi:“MI:0915”(physical association)0.560
SOCS7SORBS2psi-mi:“MI:0915”(physical association)0.560
SOCS7LENG8psi-mi:“MI:0915”(physical association)0.560
SOCS7GAS2L2psi-mi:“MI:0915”(physical association)0.560
SOCS7NSMFpsi-mi:“MI:0915”(physical association)0.560
SOCS7MISPpsi-mi:“MI:0915”(physical association)0.560
SOCS7GRB2psi-mi:“MI:0915”(physical association)0.560
CYSRT1SOCS7psi-mi:“MI:0915”(physical association)0.560
RNF7SOCS7psi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.530
SOCS7ABI1psi-mi:“MI:0407”(direct interaction)0.440
SOCS7SORBS3psi-mi:“MI:0915”(physical association)0.370
SEPTIN6SOCS7psi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.350
CUL5DDX3Xpsi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.350
RNF7SOCS2psi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.350

BioGRID (53): DAB1 (Reconstituted Complex), CUL5 (Affinity Capture-Western), DAB1 (Biochemical Activity), SOCS7 (Affinity Capture-MS), SOCS7 (Two-hybrid), SOCS7 (Two-hybrid), SOCS7 (Two-hybrid), SOCS7 (Two-hybrid), SOCS7 (Two-hybrid), SOCS7 (Two-hybrid), SOCS7 (Two-hybrid), SOCS7 (Two-hybrid), SOCS7 (Two-hybrid), SOCS7 (Two-hybrid), SOCS7 (Two-hybrid)

ESM2 similar proteins: A0A1W2PRP0, A6NCS4, A7Y7W2, O14512, O43638, O57601, O70220, O96004, P07812, P09023, P10085, P10284, P17483, P22091, P24899, P50548, P52954, P52955, P55318, P57100, P63156, P63157, P70447, P79772, P97832, Q02346, Q05917, Q0VCE2, Q12952, Q1XID0, Q28555, Q3I5G5, Q3Y598, Q60688, Q61660, Q63244, Q63250, Q64279, Q64305, Q64731

Diamond homologs: G5ECJ6, O00459, O08908, O14508, O14512, O14544, O35716, O35717, O46404, O88582, P00519, P00520, P00521, P10447, P14234, P15498, P23726, P23727, P26450, P27870, P27986, P42684, P54100, P62993, P62994, Q08012, Q08DN7, Q45FX5, Q4JIM5, Q54RB7, Q5R4J7, Q5R685, Q5RCM6, Q60631, Q62662, Q63787, Q63788, Q63789, Q64143, Q6P6U0

SIGNOR signaling

0 interactions.

Disease & clinical

Clinical variants and AI predictions

ClinVar

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

ClassificationCount (floor)
Pathogenic0
Likely pathogenic0
Uncertain significance69
Likely benign3
Benign0

Top pathogenic / likely-pathogenic (0)

SpliceAI

0 predictions. Top by Δscore:

AlphaMissense

4104 scored. Top likely-pathogenic:

VariantProtein changeam_pathogenicity
17:38366388:T:CF388L1.000
17:38366389:T:CF388S1.000
17:38366389:T:GF388C1.000
17:38366390:T:AF388L1.000
17:38366390:T:GF388L1.000
17:38366397:A:CS391R1.000
17:38366399:C:AS391R1.000
17:38366399:C:GS391R1.000
17:38366401:T:AL392H1.000
17:38366401:T:CL392P1.000
17:38366410:T:CL395S1.000
17:38366410:T:GL395W1.000
17:38367886:G:AG399D1.000
17:38367888:T:AW400R1.000
17:38367888:T:CW400R1.000
17:38367889:G:CW400S1.000
17:38367890:G:CW400C1.000
17:38367890:G:TW400C1.000
17:38367891:T:CY401H1.000
17:38367891:T:GY401D1.000
17:38367892:A:GY401C1.000
17:38367894:T:AW402R1.000
17:38367894:T:CW402R1.000
17:38367895:G:CW402S1.000
17:38367896:G:CW402C1.000
17:38367896:G:TW402C1.000
17:38367897:G:AG403R1.000
17:38367897:G:CG403R1.000
17:38367897:G:TG403W1.000
17:38367898:G:AG403E1.000

dbSNP variants (sampled 300 via entrez): RS1000023004 (17:38405993 T>A), RS1000121574 (17:38363122 G>A), RS1000172442 (17:38377616 C>T), RS1000177959 (17:38394045 T>G), RS1000197754 (17:38358995 A>G,T), RS1000305162 (17:38369827 G>A), RS1000319158 (17:38376924 A>T), RS1000319239 (17:38375875 A>G), RS1000346629 (17:38357734 A>C,G), RS1000400026 (17:38383729 A>G), RS1000538427 (17:38382016 T>C), RS1000571634 (17:38390563 C>T), RS1000586876 (17:38370812 A>G), RS1000622468 (17:38353732 A>G,T), RS1000663207 (17:38388184 C>T)

Disease associations

OMIM: gene MIM:608788 | disease phenotypes:

GenCC curated gene-disease

Mondo (0):

Orphanet (0):

HPO phenotypes

0 total (0 of 0 shown, HPO-id order):

GWAS associations

0 associations (top):

Drugs & pharmacology

Drug and pharmacology data

Is drug target: no

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

CTD chemical–gene interactions

27 total (human), top 27 by PubMed support.

ChemicalActions (top 5)PubMed papers
sodium arsenitedecreases expression, increases abundance, increases expression2
Benzo(a)pyreneincreases expression, increases methylation2
dicrotophosincreases expression1
triphenyl phosphateaffects expression1
methylparabenincreases expression1
tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl)phosphateincreases expression1
resorcinoldecreases expression1
mono(carboxy-isooctyl)phthalateaffects expression1
Acetaminophenincreases expression1
Air Pollutantsincreases abundance, increases expression1
Arsenicdecreases expression, increases abundance1
Cadmiumincreases abundance, decreases expression1
Carbamazepineaffects expression1
Chelating Agentsaffects binding, increases expression1
Copperaffects binding, increases expression1
Diclofenacaffects expression1
Doxorubicindecreases expression1
Formaldehydedecreases expression1
Methylcholanthreneaffects binding, increases reaction1
Tretinoindecreases expression1
Urethaneincreases expression1
Valproic Aciddecreases expression1
Cyclosporineincreases expression1
Antirheumatic Agentsaffects expression1
Cadmium Chloridedecreases expression, increases abundance1
Simvastatinincreases expression1
Particulate Matterincreases abundance, increases expression1

Cellosaurus cell lines

4 cell lines: 3 cancer cell line, 1 transformed cell line

First 10 cell lines (id-ordered, not curated):

CellosaurusNameCategorySex
CVCL_D8B8Ubigene A-549 SOCS7 KOCancer cell lineMale
CVCL_D8VZUbigene HCT 116 SOCS7 KOCancer cell lineMale
CVCL_D9SMUbigene HEK293 SOCS7 KOTransformed cell lineFemale
CVCL_E0PNUbigene HeLa SOCS7 KOCancer cell lineFemale

Clinical trials (associated diseases)

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

No linked Atlas pages yet — the cross-entity mesh grows as the corpus expands.