Protein / target
Cullin-4A
Protein at a glance
Biological role
Ubiquitin ligase complex scaffold
Strongest disease association
Multiple Myeloma
Therapeutic position
Established drug target
Derived from structured UniProt, Open Targets and literature data on this page.
Protein profile
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.
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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)Hide
Domains & features
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
Biological roles
What this protein does, drawn together from its UniProt function, Gene Ontology terms and Reactome pathways.
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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)Hide underlying pathways
Concepts derived from UniProt GO Reactome — each badge above shows which sources supported that role.
Interaction neighbourhood
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.
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
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.
Approved indications from ChEMBL (phase-4), via the canonical drug→disease graph.
Drugs targeting this protein
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.
CRL4(CRBN) E3 ubiquitin ligase inhibitor
Indicated for Immune System Diseases, Multiple Myeloma
CRL4(CRBN) E3 ubiquitin ligase inhibitor
Indicated for Anemia, Immune System Diseases, Lymphoma, Mantle-Cell, Multiple Myeloma
CRL4(CRBN) E3 ubiquitin ligase inhibitor
Indicated for Immune System Diseases, Multiple Myeloma
ChEMBL mechanism, action type, target identity and approved indications. Open Targets clinical status.
Translational evidence
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.
View evidence synthesis (4)Hide
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.
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Drug development
4 compounds recorded · 3 approved · 1 in clinical development
View all recorded compounds (4)Hide
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 molecules — Strong
Protein degraders — Emerging
View underlying tractability evidence (7)Hide
Raw Open Targets tractability assessment buckets, by modality.
Clinical trials
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)Hide
ClinicalTrials.gov via the drug-target graph.
What's happening now
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.
- Regulatory approval
Approval: POMALIDOMIDE (ANDA210232)
- Regulatory approval
Approval: POMALIDOMIDE (ANDA213234)
- Regulatory approval
Approval: POMALIDOMIDE (ANDA219718)
- Regulatory approval
Approval: POMALIDOMIDE (ANDA220741)
- Trial status changed
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)
- Trial status changed
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
- Trial status changed
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
- Trial results posted
Phase 2 Study With Minimal Residual Disease (MRD) Driven Adaptive Strategy in Treatment for Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma (MM) With Upfront Daratumumab-based Therapy
- New publicationSafety, Activity, and Long-term Outcomes of Pomalidomide in the Treatment of Kaposi Sarcoma among Individuals with or without HIV Infection.
- Safety communication
Drug Safety Update: Lenalidomide (Revlimid): risk of serious hepatic adverse drug reactions
- Safety communication
Drug Safety Update: Lenalidomide (Revlimid▼): update on risk of second primary malignancy
- Safety communication
Drug Safety Update: Lenalidomide: risk of thrombosis and thromboembolism
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.