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Protein / target

Cullin-4A

Encoded byCUL4AQ13619Homo sapiensSwiss-Prot
Clinically validated
Therapeutic maturity
3
Approved medicines
Open Targets target-level
View by indication →
30
Clinical trials
Small-molecule tractable
Druggability
Approved Drug

Protein at a glance

Biological role

Ubiquitin ligase complex scaffold

Strongest disease association

Multiple Myeloma

Via encoding gene CUL4A · Clinical evidence · score 0.61

Therapeutic position

Established drug target

Small molecules

Derived from structured UniProt, Open Targets and literature data on this page.

Protein profile

UniProt 2026_02

Canonical identity and biological annotation from UniProt.

Function overview

Core component of multiple cullin-RING-based E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase complexes which mediate the ubiquitination of target proteins.

View complete UniProt function annotation

Core component of multiple cullin-RING-based E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase complexes which mediate the ubiquitination of target proteins (PubMed:14578910, PubMed:14739464, PubMed:15448697, PubMed:15548678, PubMed:15811626, PubMed:16678110, PubMed:17041588, PubMed:24209620, PubMed:30166453, PubMed:33854232, PubMed:33854239). As a scaffold protein may contribute to catalysis through positioning of the substrate and the ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme (PubMed:14578910, PubMed:14739464, PubMed:15448697, PubMed:15548678, PubMed:15811626, PubMed:16678110, PubMed:17041588, PubMed:24209620). The E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase activity of the complex is dependent on the neddylation of the cullin subunit and is inhibited by the association of the deneddylated cullin subunit with TIP120A/CAND1 (PubMed:14578910, PubMed:14739464, PubMed:15448697, PubMed:15548678, PubMed:15811626, PubMed:16678110, PubMed:17041588, PubMed:24209620). The functional specificity of the E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase complex depends on the variable substrate recognition component (PubMed:14578910, PubMed:14739464, PubMed:15448697, PubMed:15548678, PubMed:15811626, PubMed:16678110, PubMed:17041588, PubMed:24209620). DCX(DET1-COP1) directs ubiquitination of JUN (PubMed:14739464). DCX(DDB2) directs ubiquitination of XPC (PubMed:15811626). DCX(DDB2) ubiquitinates histones H3-H4 and is required for efficient histone deposition during replication-coupled (H3.1) and replication-independent (H3.3) nucleosome assembly, probably by facilitating the transfer of H3 from ASF1A/ASF1B to other chaperones involved in histone deposition (PubMed:16678110, PubMed:17041588, PubMed:24209620). DCX(DTL) plays a role in PCNA-dependent polyubiquitination of CDT1 and MDM2-dependent ubiquitination of p53/TP53 in response to radiation-induced DNA damage and during DNA replication (PubMed:14578910, PubMed:15448697, PubMed:15548678). DCX(DTL) directs autoubiquitination of DTL (PubMed:23478445). In association with DDB1 and SKP2 probably is involved in ubiquitination of CDKN1B/p27kip (PubMed:16537899). Is involved in ubiquitination of HOXA9 (PubMed:14609952). The DDB1-CUL4A-DTL E3 ligase complex regulates the circadian clock function by mediating the ubiquitination and degradation of CRY1 (PubMed:26431207). The DCX(ERCC8) complex (also named CSA complex) plays a role in transcription-coupled repair (TCR) (PubMed:12732143, PubMed:32355176, PubMed:38316879). A number of DCX complexes (containing either TRPC4AP or DCAF12 as substrate-recognition component) are part of the DesCEND (destruction via C-end degrons) pathway, which recognizes a C-degron located at the extreme C terminus of target proteins, leading to their ubiquitination and degradation (PubMed:29779948). The DCX(AMBRA1) complex is a master regulator of the transition from G1 to S cell phase by mediating ubiquitination of phosphorylated cyclin-D (CCND1, CCND2 and CCND3) (PubMed:33854232, PubMed:33854239). The DCX(AMBRA1) complex also acts as a regulator of Cul5-RING (CRL5) E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase complexes by mediating ubiquitination and degradation of Elongin-C (ELOC) component of CRL5 complexes (PubMed:30166453). With CUL4B, contributes to ribosome biogenesis (PubMed:26711351)

Domains and Gene Ontology detail (38)

Domains & features

Cullin neddylation

Gene Ontology

  • CCul4-RING E3 ubiquitin ligase complex
  • CCul4A-RING E3 ubiquitin ligase complex
  • Ccytoplasm
  • Cnucleoplasm
  • Cnucleus
  • Fubiquitin ligase complex scaffold activity
  • Fubiquitin protein ligase activity
  • Fubiquitin protein ligase binding
  • Pcell population proliferation
  • Pcellular response to UV
  • PDNA damage response
  • Pepigenetic regulation of gene expression

759 aa · 88 kDa · 2 isoforms

Biological roles

Reactome v97

What this protein does, drawn together from its UniProt function, Gene Ontology terms and Reactome pathways.

Cell proliferation & survivalGOCell-cycle regulationGOTranscriptional regulationUniProt · GO · ReactomeImmune signallingGO
View supporting evidence

Cell proliferation & survival

  • ·cell population proliferation
  • ·regulation of cell population proliferation

Cell-cycle regulation

  • ·G1/S transition of mitotic cell cycle
  • ·regulation of cell cycle phase transition

Transcriptional regulation

  • ·Core component of multiple cullin-RING-based E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase complexes which…
  • ·epigenetic regulation of gene expression
  • ·Transcription-Coupled Nucleotide Excision Repair (TC-NER)

Immune signalling

  • ·regulation of mitotic cytokinesis
  • ·T cell activation
View underlying pathways (10)

Concepts derived from UniProt GO Reactome — each badge above shows which sources supported that role.

Interaction neighbourhood

STRING v12.0

Proteins with the strongest functional or physical association. Node size and line weight reflect STRING confidence; hover or select a partner to inspect one association.

ERCC8DCAF1DCAF11DDA1DDB2RBX1DDB1CUL4BDTLCRBNCUL4A

10 strongest partners — larger node and heavier line mean higher confidence

Functional and physical associations from STRING v12.0. Only associations with this protein are drawn — partner-to-partner links are not part of this evidence.

Approved medicines with mapped indications

3 medicines · 5 areas

Approved therapies targeting this protein, grouped by what they are approved to treat — the disease-first view of the medicines below. Relationships come from the canonical approved-indication graph (ChEMBL phase-4), the same source as the drug cards.

Immune System Diseases3 medicines
Multiple Myeloma3 medicines
Anemia1 medicine
Lymphoma, Mantle-Cell1 medicine
Myelodysplastic Syndromes1 medicine

Approved indications from ChEMBL (phase-4), via the canonical drug→disease graph.

Drugs targeting this protein

3

How approved and investigational drugs engage this protein — mechanism and action type, direct vs complex targeting, and how broadly each acts across other targets. A drug-first view (the section above groups the approved ones disease-first); direct binders with few recorded targets are listed first.

Thalidomide
ApprovedInhibitor

CRL4(CRBN) E3 ubiquitin ligase inhibitor

Indicated for Immune System Diseases, Multiple Myeloma

Acts on a complex — shared with CRBN, DDB1, RBX1 · 1 of 4 recorded protein targets

lenalidomide
ApprovedInhibitor

CRL4(CRBN) E3 ubiquitin ligase inhibitor

Indicated for Anemia, Immune System Diseases, Lymphoma, Mantle-Cell, Multiple Myeloma

Acts on a complex — shared with CRBN, DDB1, RBX1 · 1 of 4 recorded protein targets

pomalidomide
ApprovedInhibitor

CRL4(CRBN) E3 ubiquitin ligase inhibitor

Indicated for Immune System Diseases, Multiple Myeloma

Acts on a complex — shared with CRBN, DDB1, RBX1 · 1 of 4 recorded protein targets

ChEMBL mechanism, action type, target identity and approved indications. Open Targets clinical status.

Translational evidence

Open Targets 26

Why this target matters therapeutically, strongest evidence first. Disease associations are gene-level (via the gene that encodes this protein) and open into the full confidence synthesis; the development universe, tractability and safety annotations are target-level, from Open Targets.

Strongest disease associations · via encoding gene CUL4A

Gene-level evidence surfaced through the gene CUL4A that encodes this protein — not a direct protein–disease relationship. Ranked by Forefront's causal-directness weighting, so genetically- and clinically-evidenced diseases lead over ones that merely share the literature.

Multiple Myeloma
0.76Well supported

Clinical evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.61

Lymphoma, Mantle-Cell
0.68Moderately supported

Clinical evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.55

Anemia
0.60Moderately supported

Clinical evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.49

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular
0.52Moderately supported

Clinical evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.40

View evidence synthesis (4)
Multiple MyelomaWell supported
0.76
agreement 0.600.91
Clinical95%Literature6%

Open Targets aggregate 0.61 · 2 independent evidence families

Lymphoma, Mantle-CellModerately supported
0.68
agreement 0.520.83
Clinical100%Literature0%

Open Targets aggregate 0.55 · 2 independent evidence families

AnemiaModerately supported
0.60
agreement 0.450.76
Clinical99%Literature1%

Open Targets aggregate 0.49 · 2 independent evidence families

Carcinoma, HepatocellularModerately supported
0.52
agreement 0.370.68
Clinical80%Literature20%

Open Targets aggregate 0.40 · 2 independent evidence families

The evidence agreement range shows how closely the independent evidence families agree — it is not a statistical confidence interval, and nothing here is fitted to outcome data. Derived from Open Targets evidence types under Forefront weighting; the per-type scores above show the calculation.

Show all associations
Multiple Myeloma0.61
Lymphoma, Mantle-Cell0.55
Anemia0.49
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular0.40

Drug development

4 compounds recorded · 3 approved · 1 in clinical development

Open Targets' development universe — every compound recorded against the target at any stage, not all approved medicines. Distinct from the 3 drugs that target this protein in Forefront's canonical graph (3 with a mapped approved indication, shown above): these count different sets and are not a subset relation.

View all recorded compounds (4)
IBERDOMIDEPhase 3
POMALIDOMIDEApproval
LENALIDOMIDEApproval
THALIDOMIDEApproval

Open Targets known-drugs universe. Drug name and highest clinical stage only — the disease relationship is NOT read from this slice (it carries trial-context noise); approved indications come from the canonical graph above.

Tractability

Small moleculesStrong

Approved Drug and High-Quality Ligand support this modality.

Protein degradersEmerging

Feasibility evidence (uniprot ubiquitination and database ubiquitination) — no clinical-stage drug of this modality recorded.

View underlying tractability evidence (7)
SM · Approved DrugSM · High-Quality LigandSM · High-Quality PocketPR · UniProt UbiquitinationPR · Database UbiquitinationPR · Half-life DataPR · Small Molecule Binder

Raw Open Targets tractability assessment buckets, by modality.

Clinical trials

30

Trials of drugs that target this protein — reached indirectly through those drugs, so a trial listed here studies the drug, not the protein. Ranked by active status, then clinical phase and recency, and spread across the targeting drugs.

View all trials (26)

ClinicalTrials.gov via the drug-target graph.

What's happening now

12

Recent therapeutic activity around this target — regulatory actions, clinical trials and safety signals for 2 drugs that target this protein, plus publications where such a drug is a genuine subject. Every item is reached indirectly through the drug, not the protein itself; incidental mentions (a paper that merely measures a drug) and press items are excluded.

  1. Regulatory approval2026-08-31

    Approval: POMALIDOMIDE (ANDA210232)

    fda · regulatory · fda · via pomalidomide

  2. Regulatory approval2026-08-31

    Approval: POMALIDOMIDE (ANDA213234)

    fda · regulatory · fda · via pomalidomide

  3. Regulatory approval2026-08-31

    Approval: POMALIDOMIDE (ANDA219718)

    fda · regulatory · fda · via pomalidomide

  4. Regulatory approval2026-08-31

    Approval: POMALIDOMIDE (ANDA220741)

    fda · regulatory · fda · via pomalidomide

  5. Trial status changed2026-08-27

    A Phase 3, Multicenter, Randomized, Open Label Study of Etentamig Compared With Standard Available Therapies in Subjects With Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma (3L+ RRMM Monotherapy Study)

    Status changed to Active, not recruiting · ClinicalTrials.gov · via pomalidomide

  6. Trial status changed2026-08-19

    A Phase 3 Randomized, Open-Label Multicenter Study of Zanubrutinib (BGB-3111) Plus Anti-CD20 Antibodies Versus Lenalidomide Plus Rituximab in Patients With Relapsed/Refractory Follicular or Marginal Zone Lymphoma

    Status changed to Active, not recruiting · ClinicalTrials.gov · via lenalidomide

  7. Trial status changed2026-07-30

    64407564MMY3009: A Phase 3 Randomized Study Comparing Talquetamab in Combination With Pomalidomide (Tal-P), Talquetamab in Combination With Teclistamab (Tal-Tec), and Investigator's Choice of Either Elotuzumab, Pomalidomide, and Dexamethasone (EPd) or Pom

    Status changed to Active, not recruiting · ClinicalTrials.gov · via pomalidomide

  8. Trial results posted2026-07-28

    Phase 2 Study With Minimal Residual Disease (MRD) Driven Adaptive Strategy in Treatment for Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma (MM) With Upfront Daratumumab-based Therapy

    Results posted · ClinicalTrials.gov · via lenalidomide

  9. New publication2022-03-01
    Safety, Activity, and Long-term Outcomes of Pomalidomide in the Treatment of Kaposi Sarcoma among Individuals with or without HIV Infection.

    Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research · 2022 · 38 citations · Europe PMC · via pomalidomide

  10. Safety communication2014-12-11

    Drug Safety Update: Lenalidomide (Revlimid): risk of serious hepatic adverse drug reactions

    mhra · safety · mhra · via lenalidomide

  11. Safety communication2014-12-11

    Drug Safety Update: Lenalidomide (Revlimid▼): update on risk of second primary malignancy

    mhra · safety · mhra · via lenalidomide

  12. Safety communication2014-12-11

    Drug Safety Update: Lenalidomide: risk of thrombosis and thromboembolism

    mhra · safety · mhra · via lenalidomide

Objective event titles are shown unmodified; the event kind and significance line are derived from structured fields. Forefront AttentionEvent stream aggregating Europe PMC Regulatory filings ClinicalTrials.gov.