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GeneE
10 sources retrieved · Most recent: April 2026 · Index updated 14 days ago
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CENPU
centromere protein U
Chromosome 4 · 4q35.1
NCBI Gene: 79682Ensembl: ENSG00000151725.13HGNC: HGNC:21348UniProt: Q71F23
71PubMed Papers
20Diseases
0Drugs
0Pathogenic Variants
FUNCTIONAL ROLE
Hub GeneTranscription Factor
DATA QUALITY
✓ Experimental GO Evidence✓ Swiss-Prot Reviewed
centriolar satellitenucleoplasmprotein bindingnucleusresponse to waterinjurymyopiabreast cancer
✦AI Summary

CENPU (centromere protein U) is a kinetochore component essential for chromosome 4 during mitosis 1. As a structural component of the CENPA-NAC complex, CENPU facilitates kinetochore assembly and PLK1 localization to mitotic kinetochores, playing critical roles in mitotic progression and chromosome 4. Beyond canonical mitotic functions, CENPU demonstrates oncogenic properties across multiple cancer types. In glioblastoma, CENPU mediates temozolomide resistance by cooperating with TRIM5α to ubiquitinate and degrade RPS3, activating the ERK1/2 pathway and upregulating RAD51 to enhance DNA damage repair 2. In triple-negative breast cancer, CENPU promotes tumorigenesis and stem cell properties by suppressing lysosomal degradation of furin, which processes nerve growth factor to promote cancer stemness 1. In lung adenocarcinoma, CENPU drives proliferation, migration, and invasion through the DNAJC10 effector pathway 3. In hepatocellular carcinoma, CENPU forms a positive feedback loop with E2F6 and E2F1 to promote cell cycle progression 4, while also activating Notch signaling 5. Additional mechanisms involve FOXM1/Wnt/β-catenin pathway activation in cervical cancer 6 and Wnt/β-catenin signaling in non-small cell lung cancer 7. Elevated CENPU expression correlates with poor prognosis across multiple cancer types, suggesting its utility as a therapeutic target 8.

Sources cited
1
CENPU promotes DNA damage repair and temozolomide resistance in glioblastoma by ubiquitinating RPS3 through cooperation with TRIM5α, activating ERK1/2 and RAD51
PMID: 40023134
2
CENPU is a kinetochore component mediating chromosome segregation; promotes tumorigenesis and stem cell properties in triple-negative breast cancer by suppressing lysosomal furin degradation
PMID: 41041859
3
CENPU promotes lung adenocarcinoma cell proliferation, migration, and invasion through the DNAJC10 effector pathway; high expression predicts poor prognosis
PMID: 35176420
4
CENPU forms a positive feedback loop with E2F6 and E2F1 in hepatocellular carcinoma, promoting proliferation and metastasis through ubiquitin-mediated degradation of E2F6
PMID: 35844791
5
CENPU knockdown inhibits cervical cancer migration and stemness through suppression of the FOXM1/Wnt/β-catenin pathway
PMID: 36608638
6
CENPU is regulated by the lncRNA GATA3-AS1/miR-495-3p axis and involved in PLK1 signaling pathway; high expression predicts poor breast cancer prognosis
PMID: 33902008
7
CENPU is highly expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues and promotes proliferation, migration, and invasion via Notch signaling pathway
PMID: 34957303
8
CENPU is upregulated in non-small cell lung cancer and promotes proliferation, migration, and invasion through the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway
PMID: 30536323
Disease Associationsⓘ20
response to waterOpen Targets
0.31Weak
injuryOpen Targets
0.12Weak
myopiaOpen Targets
0.12Weak
breast cancerOpen Targets
0.10Suggestive
hepatocellular carcinomaOpen Targets
0.10Suggestive
neoplasmOpen Targets
0.10Suggestive
gastric cancerOpen Targets
0.08Suggestive
lung cancerOpen Targets
0.08Suggestive
urinary bladder carcinomaOpen Targets
0.08Suggestive
papillomaOpen Targets
0.07Suggestive
nasopharyngeal carcinomaOpen Targets
0.07Suggestive
non-small cell lung carcinomaOpen Targets
0.07Suggestive
diabetes mellitusOpen Targets
0.06Suggestive
type 2 diabetes mellitusOpen Targets
0.06Suggestive
triple-negative breast cancerOpen Targets
0.06Suggestive
breast carcinomaOpen Targets
0.06Suggestive
colorectal cancerOpen Targets
0.05Suggestive
lung adenocarcinomaOpen Targets
0.04Suggestive
cancerOpen Targets
0.04Suggestive
glioblastoma multiformeOpen Targets
0.04Suggestive
Pathogenic Variants
No pathogenic variants reported on ClinVar for this gene.
View on ClinVar ↗
Related Genes
PPP1R7Shared pathway100%CCDC86Shared pathway100%CENPMProtein interaction100%CENPLProtein interaction100%CENPAProtein interaction100%CENPCProtein interaction100%
Tissue Expression6 tissues
Bone Marrow
100%
Brain
4%
Heart
2%
Lung
2%
Liver
1%
Ovary
1%
Gene Interaction Network
Click a node to explore
CENPUPPP1R7CCDC86CENPMCENPLCENPACENPC
PROTEIN STRUCTURE
Preparing viewer…
PDB7R5S · 2.83 Å · EM
View on RCSB ↗
Constraintⓘ
LOEUFⓘ
1.21LoF Tolerant
pLIⓘ
0.00Tolerant
Observed/Expected LoF0.83 [0.58–1.21]
RankingsWhere CENPU stands among ~20K protein-coding genes
  • #6,621of 20,598
    Most Researched71
  • #12,690of 17,882
    Most Constrained (LOEUF)1.21
Genes detectedCENPU
Sources retrieved10 papers
Response time—
📄 Sources
10▼
1
Centromere protein U mediates the ubiquitination and degradation of RPS3 to facilitate temozolomide resistance in glioblastoma.
PMID: 40023134
Drug Resist Updat · 2025
1.00
2
CENPU promotes tumorigenesis and stem cell properties in triple‑negative breast cancer by suppressing lysosomal furin degradation.
PMID: 41041859
Int J Mol Med · 2025
0.90
3
The centromere-associated protein CENPU promotes cell proliferation, migration, and invasiveness in lung adenocarcinoma.
PMID: 35176420
Cancer Lett · 2022
0.80
4
A positive feedback loop of CENPU/E2F6/E2F1 facilitates proliferation and metastasis via ubiquitination of E2F6 in hepatocellular carcinoma.
PMID: 35844791
Int J Biol Sci · 2022
0.70
5
Knockdown of CENPU inhibits cervical cancer cell migration and stemness through the FOXM1/Wnt/β-catenin pathway.
PMID: 36608638
Tissue Cell · 2023
0.60